The Disgraced Hero
by Manimal
Summary: Percy is betrayed by almost everyone he knows and cast into Tartarus. While falling he meets with a being older than time itself who gives him powers never seen before. Later a new evil arises and the only one who can save the gods is their disgraced hero; Perseus Jackson.
1. Prologue

**A/N: New story, yay! Constructive criticism would be appreciated, thanks.**

 **Disclaimer: My name is not Rick Riordan and thus I do not own Percy Jackson. Simple as that people.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter One**

"It has begun." Said a disembodied voice in the darkness.

"Indeed it has, father." Said another voice coming from a beam of light. "He is breaking."

"We must not underestimate the child." Said the first voice.

"Of course not. He is strong, for a demigod. But one can only take so much before reaching a breaking point and Perseus Jackson is nearing his."

 **X**

Percy was completely bewildered. Everywhere he went in the camp, he received hostile glares and shoves or was just ignored altogether and he had no idea why. He went around camp trying to talk to his friends but was always pushed away.

Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Reyna, all lived in Camp Jupiter and though they sometimes Iris-messaged him, it just wasn't the same. Leo was on a world tour with his girlfriend Calypso and Grover was usually out doing his Lord of the Wild stuff or with his pregnant girlfriend Juniper and had little time for Percy.

His friend Katie Gardner had yelled at him – and she never yelled, except at Travis and Connor, but that was different – about her gardening tools being destroyed or something and when Percy asked what she was talking about, she actually slapped him before storming off.

The Stolls had said something about a prank that backfired and said it was Percy's fault. Then they pranked him for all they were worth. Which, in pranking, was a lot. Thankfully, Percy had some experience with the Stolls' pranks and was able to evade most of them.

Clarisse was even more hostile than usual, going all out in the arena and trying extra hard to maim Percy when they sparred, and her boyfriend, Chris, whom Percy had always gotten along with fine, looked at him with a smug look on his face, like he knew something or had something Percy didn't. Maybe both.

When the hunters had come to camp the week before, they all glared at him distastefully, which usually wouldn't be strange for a male but Percy and the hunters had kinda gotten along after the second Giant War. At least, as much as the hunters and a male could get along. Even Thalia seemed unusually distant, always calling him Percy instead of Perce, Kelp Head or Kelp-for-Brains.

Nico usually stayed at camp with his boyfriend, Will Solace, but hardly ever talked to Percy. They had talked and gotten over whatever it was between them and were pretty good friends. But then Nico seemed to have caught the I-hate-Percy virus along with everyone else.

But what hurt Percy the most was that his amazing girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, the one he had fallen into Tartarus for, was getting more distant every day and it seemed that she hardly cared about Percy anymore. Percy, though, was going to do everything in his power to fix that.

That's why, one night, he went to her cabin to look for her. He knocked on cabin number six's door and one of Annabeth's sisters opened the door.

"Hi, is Annabeth here?" Percy asked. The girl looked at him like he was something she scraped off the sole of her shoe before answering.

"No."

"Do you know where she is?" Percy asked.

"No." She said again.

"Do you think that one of your siblings might know anything?" He asked her. She looked incredibly annoyed before turning back into the cabin and asking if anyone knew where Annabeth was. Someone yelled something back and the girl turned to Percy.

"Malcolm said that he saw her walking into the forest twenty minutes ago." She told him. Then she slammed the door into his face. Percy blinked twice.

"Thanks." He muttered sarcastically before turning and jogging into the forest. When he had been walking for about ten minutes he started hearing strange sounds. He slowed down and walked towards the sounds. There were grunts and moans and Percy realized too late what that meant.

As he reached the edge of a clearing the very blood froze in his veins. On the ground a few feet in front of him were two people literally joined at the hips. But it wasn't what they were doing that made Percy react that way, no. It was who they were.

The one on the ground was Chris Rodriguez, Clarisse's boyfriend, and on top of him was definitely not Clarisse. No, she was none other than the very daughter of Athena Percy had come to find. Annabeth Chase was lying on the son of Hermes allowing said demigod access to something only Percy should get.

At first Percy was on the verge of tears but then he got angry. He got angrier than he ever had before and decided to take it out on the two people cheating on their respective partners.

Before either Chris or Annabeth knew what was going on, they were flattened to the ground as hundreds of gallons of water, taken from the river nearby, were dropped on top of them.

They screamed and spluttered and fumbled around, trying to get their bearings when they spotted a very mad son of Poseidon.

"P-P-Percy!" Annabeth stuttered. "It isn't what it looks like!"

"Bullshit!" Percy screamed. "I thought our relationship meant more to you than this! I thought _I_ meant more to you than this! Apparently not." As he spoke (yelled), the earth started shaking and a hurricane started forming, nature reacting to the son of Poseidon's emotions.

Chris, who had hurriedly put his pants back on, stood up and reached out to Percy.

"Percy, dude, come on, stop this. We can talk this out." He said. Percy turned to him and Chris flinched back from his glare.

"Shut up Chris, I'll deal with you later." Percy said. Chris was definitely not one to take something like that lying down, so he advanced on Percy.

"Hey! You don't talk to me like that! Just get over it dude, I got the girl, not you." He said. Before Chris could react, Percy had swept him off his feet and smashed his elbow in his nose. Just before he passed out he heard Percy say something that scared the shit out of him.

"I've changed my mind. I won't deal with you, I'll let Clarisse do it."

Percy then turned back to Annabeth, who had used the time while Percy and Chris talked to put her pants and shirt on. "How long?" He demanded.

"Ever since you went missing." Annabeth admitted.

"For more than two years?!" Percy asked. Annabeth weakly nodded.

"Is he the only one?" When Annabeth didn't answer, Percy sreamed at her. "Is he the only one?!" She shook her head weakly and Percy started to shake in anger. "Who else?" He asked in a deathly quiet voice.

"W-Will Solace too." She squeaked out.

"Why, Annabeth?" Percy asked. She stayed quiet for a few moments and Percy was just about to yell at her again when she spoke up.

"A-at first it was because I missed you and I was lonely and n-needed someone. But y-you're just n-not exciting anymore. In the w-wars you were, like, a warrior type guy but you just don't have that-that feel anymore." She stuttered out, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Percy looked at her, slowly becoming angrier and angrier as she spoke.

"So you only wanted to be with me because I could fight and kill monsters." Percy said coldly over the din of the storm. Trees were being uprooted and in camp the situation wasn't any better. "After I turned down godhood. For YOU. After I fell into Tartarus. For YOU. And then I turned down godhood _again_. FOR YOU!" He finished in a yell. Annabeth shrunk back when thunder boomed and lightning flashed in the sky.

"I'm sorry Percy." Annabeth cried. "I made a mistake. Please can we just start over?" She asked.

"Are you kidding?" Percy asked incredulously. "After your blatant disregard for everything our relationship stood for? After you humiliate me like this? Not a chance."

"Please, Percy, I'm sorry." Annabeth said, falling down to her knees. Percy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself down and the storm slowly stopped.

When everything was silent again he opened his eyes and spoke in a cold voice that sent shivers down Annabeth's spine.

"Goodbye, Annabeth. I hope you find someone _exciting_ enough for you." And then he walked away.

As Percy stepped out of the Forest, he was greeted with a sight that he did not expect. The roof of the Big House had been torn off, the tables in the dining pavilion were all over the place and the cabins were in terrible shape. A group of campers and Chiron walked over to Percy, Clarisse La Rue in the lead.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Prissy?" She screamed at him.

"Well, for one, I just saw my girlfriend fucking your boyfriend." Percy answered. Clarisse and the campers most recoiled in shock.

"What?" She asked.

"Like I said. I just saw your boyfriend and my girlfriend fucking in the forest." He said. Clarisse growled in anger and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"You're lying." She growled at him. Percy scowled, grabbed Clarisse's hands and, to everyone's immense shock, overpowered her and forced her to let go of him. Then he glared at Clarisse.

"Why the fuck would I lie about something like that?" He asked. "Besides, if you want proof, he is currently lying unconscious with a broken nose on the ground next to my crying _ex_ -girlfriend. He was pissing me off so I laid him out for you to deal with as you please." Then he walked past Clarisse and into the group of wide-eyed campers until he found the son of Apollo he was looking for.

Will Solace's eyes widened and he paled as he realized that Percy must have found out about him too. Shit, Nico was going to kill him.

Percy walked up to him and instead of saying anything, just grabbed his head and pulled it down, introducing Will's face to his knee. The son of Apollo crumpled down unconscious as blood spurted out of his nose and mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Nico screamed at Percy. Percy turned to him with his eyes blazing with anger.

"He isn't as gay as you thought." Percy said.

"What are you talking about?!" Nico demanded.

"He fucked Annabeth too. I was just getting a little revenge on the backstabbing bastard."

"What?" Nico couldn't believe what he was hearing. Percy sighed and looked Nico straight in the eye.

"My advice, find another type." He said, not so subtly hinting at Nico's words from just after the Giant War. Then he kept on walking to the Poseidon cabin.

When he arrived in his cabin he grabbed the Minotaur horn, and all his drachmas and mortal cash in his jacket pockets. When he was reached the top of the hill, Chiron called out to him.

"Percy, where are you going?" He asked.

"I don't know, Chiron." Percy said, shaking his head. "Away from here at least."

"It is dangerous out there." The centaur said. Percy smiled slightly.

"I know, Chiron but I can protect myself. I'll probably just say hi to my mom and maybe go over to Camp Jupiter for a while." He said. Chiron nodded, knowing that he couldn't and probably shouldn't stop his student.

"Alright Percy. Just be careful and may Lady Tyche be with you." Chiron said as Percy started walking down.

Percy turned around so he was walking backwards down the hill and gave Chiron a bitter smile. "When has she ever, Chiron? When has she ever?"

When Percy was down the hill, he threw a drachma at the ground and called for the grey sisters' taxi. He got a ride with them to his mom's apartment.

When he arrived he got took a deep breath before knocking on the door to his mother's apartment. He immediately heard some shuffling inside. A few seconds later, the door was opened and his amazing mother, Sally Blofis, stood in front of him with a surprised but happy smile.

"Percy!" She exclaimed as she swept him up in one of her amazing hugs. Percy clung to her tightly and breathed in the smell of cookies and candy and something that was just so _her._

"Hey, mom." He muttered. She pulled back from the hug and held Percy at an arm's length looking up at him since he had grown a few inches taller than her.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Percy shook his head and opened his mouth when Paul walked out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Percy." The English teacher greeted. "Sally, let him come in, he hasn't even crossed the doorstep yet." The mother and son looked down and saw that Percy had indeed not actually gotten inside the apartment.

"Hi, Paul." Percy said as he walked into the medium-sized apartment. Sally led him into the living room and sat him down on the sofa before plopping herself and Paul down on a couple of chairs that she had moved so they were sitting across from Percy.

"Now," Sally began. "Tell me what's got you so down."

"It's, uh, about Annabeth." He said.

"Is she okay?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, yeah. She's fine, I think." Percy told them.

"Then what's up? I know you don't just show up at our doorstep looking like that when you're supposed to be at camp and everything's fine." Sally said. And it was true. Percy did look terrible. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his hair extra wild from all the wind earlier. He always carried all of his emotions in his eyes and both Sally and Paul could see that Percy was definitely not alright.

"Annabeth, she . . ." Percy started.

"Yes?" Sally prompted.

"She cheated on me." And so the bomb was dropped.

"What?!" Neither Sally nor Paul could believe their ears.

"Are you sure? I mean if someone told you they could have been lying . . ." Paul tried but Percy shook his head.

"I saw it for myself." He said. "And she admitted that she'd been doing it ever since I went missing almost two years ago."

"But . . . that's the majority of your relationship!" Sally shouted. Percy nodded miserably.

"She said that she was lonely and that after the war I just wasn't exciting enough."

"And that other guy was?" Sally demanded, livid that her son's heart had been broken in such a way.

"Guys." Percy corrected.

"What?" Sally asked, thinking she had misheard her son.

"There were two other guys."

"That bitch!" Percy's mom exclaimed. Percy and Paul both stared at her wide-eyed. Sally never spoke about anyone that way. "I'm going to find her and I'm going to –"

"What?" Percy interrupted. "She's at camp. You can't get in to camp."

"Then I'll find a way to get into camp." Sally was going to continue her rant but was interrupted again, this time by a knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" Paul wondered out loud as he walked away from his heartbroken step-son and fuming wife to answer the door.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of Percy's neck stood up. "Paul, wait!" he yelled. Paul's hand stopped inches away from the doorknob. He looked questioningly at Percy.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I don't know." Percy said. "But I have a bad feeling and if years of surviving as a demigod have taught me anything, you should always trust your instincts."

"Well, what are your instincts telling you?" Paul asked.

"That you should not open that door." Percy told him as he stood up. "I'll do it." Paul stepped out of the way and Percy moved to open the door. He pulled Riptide out of his pocket and uncapped it, the bronze blade springing forth.

He silently turned the knob on the door and opened it quickly. Percy's eyes widened as he spotted three dracaenae standing ready with their weapons. They hesitated for a split second as their own eyes widened, clearly not expecting Percy to be home.

That split second was all Percy needed as he attacked the monsters invading his home.

He sliced both legs of one dracaena before decapitating her as she fell to the ground. He then jumped up and stabbed one through the chest. Two disintegrated in a few seconds.

The third one tried to swipe at him but he dodged and severed her entire arm from her body. He then pulled her disgustingly revealing shirt and threw her into the apartment and closed the door. He towered over her with his sword at her neck as she whimpered pitifully, clutching the stump where her arm once was.

"Who sent you?" He growled at her. She looked at him fearfully before steeling herself and answering.

"Nobody sent us, we came on our own." She said shakily.

"Liar." Percy hissed. The tap in the kitchen exploded as he forced the water through it. He hardened it into a few water spears, all of them pointing at various places of the dracaena's body. "Answer me now!" He yelled.

"They will come!" She suddenly said.

"Who? Who will come?" Percy asked.

"They will plunge the world into darkness and burn it with light!" The dracaena exclaimed. That made no sense but she seemed to believe it. "This time, son of Poseidon, you won't be enough!" Percy had had enough so he shot all the water spears at the dracaena. She screamed in agony until she disintegrated like the ones before her.

Percy looked at his mother and stepfather's fearful faces and felt a pang of sadness. They were afraid of him too. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing his tears back.

"This place isn't safe anymore." He said when he opened his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sally asked her son.

"I mean that the monsters have found you. They obviously weren't here for me so they were sent by someone to kill you. I need to get you somewhere safe."

"Where are we supposed to go then?"

"I have an idea." Percy closed his eyes and prayed to his favorite goddess.

A few seconds later a flash of flames lit up the dark apartment before it receded as Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, arrived in an eighteen year old form, as opposed to the ten years younger body she usually inhibited.

She was stunningly beautiful with her mousy brown hair that reached the middle of her back and looked so _soft_ , smooth, fair skin, gorgeous flaming eyes and just the general feeling of hope and warmth that she radiated.

Percy shook himself out of his reverie when he realized that he'd been staring at her and stepped forward and bowed, followed by his mother and step-father.

"Lady Hestia." He said. "Thank you for coming." Hestia smiled so warmly it filled the three mortals with calm and happiness.

"You know you don't have to call me Lady, Perseus." Hestia told him.

"And you know you don't have to call me Perseus, _Lady_ Hestia." Percy put special emphasis on the 'Lady'. Hestia frowned but then gave a small chuckle.

"Touché, Percy. Touché." Sally and Paul watched as Percy conversed so casually with an Olympian goddess. Sally also made a mental note to talk with Percy about him staring at her.

"Lady Hestia," Sally said. "It is an honor." Hestia smiled at her again.

"The honor is all mine, dear Sally. I have long wanted to meet with the woman who raised the extraordinary man that is Percy here." Hestia said with a light gesture to Percy who blushed at the praise along with his mother. Then she turned serious. "But I have a feeling that introducing me to your mother was not the sole reason you called me here." Percy shook his head.

"No, it's not." Percy sighed. „I need a safe place for mom and Paul. There were three dracaenae that came here just a few minutes ago. If I hadn't been here . . ." He trailed off. Hestia frowned in concern before getting an idea.

"I think I know just the place." She said with a warm smile. The four of them disappeared in a flash of flames and reappeared in a cozy neighborhood. There were a few identical houses in a row. The houses themselves were two floors, beige colored with a black roof and some white lines around the windows and such.

"Where are we?" Percy asked. Hestia smiled.

"Franklin, Massachusetts. The safest city in the United States." She said. Percy snorted.

"Of course you'd go here, being the peaceful goddess you are." He said playfully. Hestia laughed and slapped Percy lightly in the arm.

"Oh, hush, you." She said. Percy raised his arms in surrender and backed away laughing. Sally was very confused.

When Percy arrived at the apartment he was a mess after what that bitch had done to him, then he was angry and, frankly, pretty scary when the snake women came. But then, when Hestia came, he was almost back to his old self, joking and playing around. With a goddess no less.

She cleared her throat and both Percy and Hestia jumped slightly, like they had forgotten they weren't alone.

"Right, yeah." Percy started, clearing his throat.

"Let's go inside." Hestia said, gesturing to the house they stood in front of. They all walked inside and the interior was very . . . homey. „This is one of my 'safe houses'," Hestia stated, putting air quotes around the word safe houses. „You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish."

"Thank you, uh, Lady Hestia." Paul said, speaking for the first time since the dracaenae appeared. Sally nodded in agreement. Percy came up to his mom and gave her a hug before saying goodbye, since staying with them would be too dangerous.

Percy and Hestia then disappeared and reappeared in Hestia's temple. Hestia turned to Percy with concerned eyes.

"Percy?" She said putting a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, of course. Why?" He said a bit too quickly. Hestia contemplated on how to say what she was thinking but decided to just be a bit blunt.

"I know what happened at camp. Are you really okay?" Percy's face immediately became pained and he silently shook his head as tears formed in his eyes.

Hestia closed the distance between them and gave him a warm hug, which he returned by wrapping his arms around Hestia tightly.

Neither of them knew how long they stood like that, wrapped up in each other's arms but neither could deny how good it felt. After a while Percy stepped back and wiped his tears off with the back of his hand.

"Come on, you must be tired." Hestia said. Percy nodded numbly and Hestia grabbed his hand and led him to a guest room. "You should sleep." She said.

Percy didn't complain because he was dead tired. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light. Hestia chuckled lightly as she put a blanket over him. "Good night, Percy." She said softly before she walked out the door.

 **A/N: First chapter of the story finished!**

 **Review and tell me what you think! It actually took a lot of self-convincing to post this and I'm going to ask you not to needlessly bash me or the story. But, constructive criticism is much appreciated.**

 **Follow, favorite, whatever you want to do.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	2. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited the story and to those who reviewed. I only got one really negative review, but it was extremely silly and I actually laughed at it, so, thanks for that, dude.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Two – Aftermath**

Camp Half-Blood would never be accused of being the most orderly place in the world, but after the Percy Jackson-sized bomb was dropped, chaos ensued.

The demigods watched Percy Jackson leave the camp for what felt like the last time. He was the hero of Olympus. Their friend. The person that they had, for some inexplicable reason, ostracized completely.

A minute or so after he was out of sight, the silence was broken by a person coming out of the partly devastated forest.

"Percy!" Yelled Annabeth Chase, causing everyone's head to snap towards her, so in sync that it creeped her out slightly. She shook of her unease and walked to Clarisse. "Do you know where Percy is?" The daughter of the war god narrowed her eyes and looked completely livid.

Annabeth was about to ask what her problem was when she heard a groan from the ground. A certain blonde-haired boy lay there with one hand trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. The boy's boyfriend stood over him with anger blazing in his onyx eyes.

Shit. Percy had told them. She had been hoping that he was at least a tiny bit loyal to her but apparently that ship had sailed, stranded and then blown up.

And then, just to make her absolutely sure that both Tyche and Nemesis were working together against her, a bloody-faced Chris Rodriguez broke through the tree-line, looking for her.

"Hey, babe, we gotta figure out what to do before Clarisse finds out about–" He cut himself off abruptly as he saw the entirety of the camp standing a few feet in front of him. "Oh, crap."

"Babe?" Clarisse asked through gritted teeth. "Babe?!"

"Come on, Clarisse, baby, I was just–" He didn't get any further because Clarisse interrupted him with something that sounded like the war cry of an entire army and started running at him with her eyes blazing and spear crackling with electricity.

Chris let out a very feminine shriek and ran away in the direction of the lake. With him being a son of Hermes, he was very fast, but an enraged Clarisse was never to be underestimated.

The son of Hermes turned to look at the daughter of the war god and saw that she was gaining on him. With another shriek he put on a burst of speed but was closer to the edge than he had originally thought.

He screeched to a halt as he teetered on the edge and turned around, whereupon Clarisse caught up to him and thrust her spear forward, stabbing her ex-boyfriend deep in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and disbelief, not having thought that she'd actually stab him.

Clarisse pulled her spear roughly out of Chris's body, blood spraying all around. He crumpled to the ground with tears falling from his eyes and blood pouring from his shoulder.

Clarisse watched him fall pathetically like the disgusting worm that he was. She dropped her spear to the ground and straddled Chris, before starting to wail on him wherever she reached, be it face or body.

After half a minute or so, she stopped, tears falling from her own eyes as she beat the man she loved. Chris's face and shoulder were bloody and disgusting and his body would be black and blue for a while. Clarisse stood and picked up her spear before grabbing Chris roughly by the hair and dragging him away.

The crowd was still mostly in the same place as it had been when Clarisse ran after Chris so she threw him to a group of his siblings. She was so sad, she couldn't even enjoy their horrified looks as they laid eyes on their brother.

She looked to her left and saw Nico walking towards her. Looking over his shoulder, Clarisse noticed appreciatively that Will Solace wasn't in any better of a shape where he lay by his siblings, none of whom were brave enough to be making any immediate attempts at healing him.

"Looks like the whore took the chance to hide while we dealt with the other two." Was the first thing the son of Hades said to Clarisse. She looked around and saw that he was right.

"We'll have to smoke her out, then." She said, sneakily wiping her eyes as Nico nodded in affirmation.

The two of them, the daughter of Ares and the son of Hades, had a hard time opening up to people, they didn't trust easily. But they had let their walls down and let someone in, and to be so utterly betrayed by the one person they believed in more than anyone else . . . it _hurt._

They just wanted the ones responsible to know how much they had hurt them. They wanted them to _feel_ it.

A half hour later Chiron had gone to patch Chris and Will up and Clarisse and Nico had concocted a plan that would most definitely drag Annabeth out from wherever she was hiding. It was dangerous and relied on her being somewhere she could see what was going on, but she was too eager to know everything to go hide away blindly.

Clarisse walked up to the Athena cabin with a torch in her hand. "Hey, Annabeth!" She yelled. "I'm going to set your cabin on fire unless you come out!" She waited for just over thirty seconds before shrugging and throwing the torch at the cabin, which burst into flames, making Clarisse close her eyes and smile serenely.

Suddenly a scream belonging to a girl came from the inside of the cabin. The little girl screamed for help as Clarisse's face turned from one of contentment to one of horror. She backed away, seemingly unbelieving of what was happening.

After a few horrible seconds, a blonde-haired girl came running. Annabeth Chase had arrived to the rescue. She shot towards the cabin but as soon as she came within a foot of it, she ran into an invisible wall, falling flat on her butt.

Clarisse's mood did a complete 180° as she laughed and started walking to Annabeth as she tried to get to the cabin. When she reached her, Clarisse grabbed Annabeth's ponytail and pulled her down to the ground before planting her foot on Annabeth's chest.

"Let me go, Clarisse, I have to help her!" Annabeth screamed hysterically, clawing at Clarisse's leg. "What kind of monster are you?!" Clarisse's smile disappeared and she scowled darkly, pushing her heel into Annabeth's chest.

"You call me a monster when you've done nothing but lie to your friends for gods know how long? You call me a monster when you've ruined three steady relationships in an hour? You call me a monster when you don't even regret it?!" Clarisse demanded. "Besides, there's no one to save, anyway."

"What?" Annabeth asked stupidly. Clarisse laughed again as Nico walked up to them with a smirk on his face.

"We had the Hecate cabin help us with this one. Turns out they really liked Percy, he was always nice to them." He said matter-of-factly. "The cabin's not actually on fire, there's a shield around it and then another shield over it, which, I think you've already acquainted yourself with."

"But the screams?" Annabeth tried weakly as she watched the children of Hecate remove the barriers and put out the fire.

"Yeah, that's a good one. Turns out this cutie," Clarisse ruffled the hair of a pretty eight year old daughter of Aphrodite who had walked out of the cabin. "Wants to be an actress. I, for one, think that she can totally do it." The girl gave Clarisse a huge smile and hugged her briefly before skipping over to some of her sisters who all high-fived her and hugged her tightly.

"Face it, Chase, you got tricked. Not so smart now, huh?" Nico said, cracking his knuckles. Annabeth looked around at the campers but didn't see a single sympathetic face, not even with her siblings, who most turned away from her like she disgusted them or they were embarrassed of her.

She didn't seem to have anything to lose so Annabeth punched Clarisse in the side of the knee as hard as she could, making the bigger girl grunt in pain and lose her balance. Annabeth used all her training, jumping up from the ground and running away.

Nico helped Clarisse up before smirking darkly and running at the Athena cabin before. Instead of hitting a wall, Nico jumped and disappeared into the cabin's shadow, coming out of the shadow of his own cabin just in time to knee Annabeth in the jaw.

The daughter of Athena fell to the ground and Nico followed, punching her twice in the face, hard. He then straightened up just as Clarisse arrived to kick Annabeth in the side, sending her flying for a few feet.

Nico and Clarisse grinned maliciously at each other before advancing on Annabeth, who lay on the ground coughing up blood.

 **X**

When Percy woke up he was very confused. He had no idea where he was or how he got there. Then the night before all came crashing back to him; Annabeth, his parents and, finally, Hestia.

Well, at least there was something good in what was undeniably the worst day of his life, almost on par with any of the days he spent in Tartarus, emotionally, anyway.

Finally he forced himself to get up from what had to be the most comfortable bed in the world and saw that it was only 9 a.m., around two hours before he usually woke up. He saw a pile of neatly folded clothes on a chair next to the bed and smiled. Hestia was too good to him.

He took off the clothes he had fallen asleep in and put on the ones Hestia had found for him, blue jeans and a black t-shirt and hoodie.

After he put on the clothes he walked out of the room and found his way to the kitchen. It wasn't hard, all he had to do was follow the amazing food smell. In a way it reminded him of his mother's cooking.

"Good morning Percy. " Hestia said softly from where she sat at the table as Percy walked into the kitchen. He noticed that she was still in her eighteen year old form for some reason and couldn't help but think how beautiful she was.

„Morning Hestia." Percy answered. She smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down across from her. He sat down and put some food on his plate at Hestia's insistence. The food was amazing and reminded him of the best food he had ever gotten; his mother's. They ate in companionable silence before Percy broke it.

„Thank you. For last night, I mean. I needed that." Percy said quietly. Hestia smiled softly.

„Of course, Percy." She said. Percy hesitated before continuing, deciding that he could trust Hestia with anything.

„I've never been able to do that before." He told her.

„What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

„You know, cry." He said. „Like, really cry. When I was a kid I could never cry, because . . . Gabe would get . . . angry, and at camp I've always had to be the leader, y'know? The rock for everyone else. I've lost count of how many times I've given a shoulder for someone to cry on, but I can hardly remember getting one to cry on myself. So thank you." Hestia got a sad look as he spoke, thinking about how he had had to go through way too much in his short life. Then she smiled as she was happy to have been able to help him.

„Although, Zeus is probably going to have my head." He finished with a small chuckle.

„What do you mean?" Hestia asked.

„I thought you knew. I kinda . . . broke camp." He said. Hestia's eyes widened.

„What?" She asked, disbelievingly.

„I got mad and my powers acted up. There was a storm and an earthquake and a part of the forest and some of the cabins are destroyed." He told her.

„I didn't know that." She said. Percy looked at her curiously.

"But you said that you knew what happened at camp." He stated.

"Yes, I did, but only what you were feeling. I could sense your hope diminishing and the reason behind it but nothing else." Hestia told him.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Percy said.

Hestia stared for a few seconds before shaking her head. „Well, let's not think about that. Are you finished?" She asked, gesturing to Percy's empty plate. He nodded.

„Yeah, thanks." He said. Hestia just smiled as she snapped her fingers and the plates and leftover food disappear. „Hey, uh, I'm just going to go back to bed or something." Hestia nodded her head.

As Percy left to his room, Hestia frowned. She did not like to see Percy so sad like that. It was completely understandable, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

She was the goddess of hope and Percy's rapid fall of hope was one of the biggest she had ever sensed. She didn't know what to do but knew she had to do something.

After brainstorming for an hour or so she had an idea that literally set her hair on fire. She quickly put out the fire and went to Percy's room.

When she arrived she saw Percy lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. It was a terrible sight and he, of all people, didn't deserve what had happened to him. She walked up to the side of the bed and poked Percy in the nose.

„Come on." She said with her hand extended. Percy looked at her curiously before he stood up and took her hand.

She flashed them away and when Percy regained his bearings he noticed that they were in a beautiful city with the sun shining bright in the sky. It was obvious that they weren't in the US anymore as the time seemed to be a few hours after noon.

„Where are we?" He asked, looking around in wonder.

„Berlin." Hestia answered. Percy's eyes widened.

„We're in Germany?" He asked. Hestia smiled and nodded. She let go of Percy's hand and gestured for him to follow her. He did but couldn't help but miss the warmth her hand provided. _Whoa, where did that come from?_ He thought as he walked with the goddess of the hearth through the capital of Germany. „So, what are we doing here?" Percy asked.

„I figured that you might want to get your mind off some . . . things and decided that the best way to do so was to take a vacation." Hestia told him. Percy raised an eyebrow but smiled.

"So, what now?" He questioned.

„What do you want to do?" Hestia asked.

„Uhh, I don't know." Percy said. „I've never really left the US aside from the quest to Rome and Greece and that one night in Paris." He got a sad look in his eyes as he thought about the date he took Annabeth on for their one month anniversary. Hestia frowned. She really wanted Percy to be happy.

„Then, we just pretend to be tourists and do whatever tourists do." Hestia said. Percy shrugged.

„Sure." He said.

The two then spent the rest of the day and some of the night walking through Berlin, pretending to be normal tourists and doing tourist-y things.

Percy had never felt so normal before and Hestia was happy to see that he had regained some of the spark in his eyes. When they got back to Hestia's place it was after midnight in Europe but just in time for dinner in America and they were both exhausted.

„Thank you, again, Hestia." Percy said. Hestia gave Percy a big smile.

„It's no problem Percy." She said.

„No, really. Thank you. You came when I asked you yesterday and you helped me with my parents. Then you were there for me and let me stay with you for the night and then you listened to me rant the morning after and then took me to Berlin for what was probably one of the most fun days in my life. You've gone above and beyond, for me. So, thank you." Percy said, dead serious.

Hestia almost started crying. She had been ignored and taken for granted for most of her immortal life but there was one demigod who thanked her repeatedly and respected her more than anyone before him.

„You're welcome Percy." She told him, before she gave him a hug. Percy hugged her back tightly.

„I should get some sleep." Percy said softly in the goddess's ear. Hestia nodded and pulled back from the hug.

„You know where the room is. You can stay here as long as you want." She said.

„Thanks." He said. „Good night, Hestia." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

„Good night, Percy."

 **X**

Percy woke up feeling better than he had in a while. Of course Annabeth's betrayal weighed heavily on him, but maybe, he could manage to get over it. Especially if he was going to be sleeping in beds like this. Seriously, what was Hestia's secret?

Hestia.

She had always been kind to him, ever since the first time they met outside of May Castellan's house a few years earlier and they had become friends in the years after, but even she probably wouldn't want him around all the time. He'd have to go to Camp Jupiter sooner or later.

Figuring that he'd need to get out of the ridiculously comfortable bed at some point, Percy stood up and got dressed in the black cargo pants, dark blue Converse shoes, sea green t-shirt and black jacket Hestia had left for him.

When he walked into the kitchen, he was greeted with the same sight as the previous day. Hestia sat at the table, looking as beautiful as ever while eating her breakfast.

„Good morning." He greeted her. She looked up and smiled softly.

„Good morning, Percy." She said. As Percy sat down to eat the two of them engaged in a conversation.

„What's the deal with the bed I slept in?" He asked. „It is the single most comfortable thing in the universe." Hestia laughed.

„My palace is made to be the best home you could imagine. Home is my domain after all." She said.

„So you get super comfy beds and awesome cooking skills?" Percy asked. „Great deal."

„That it is." Hestia conceded, still laughing lightly. „So, what do you want to do today?" She asked. Percy shrugged.

„Don't know. I'll probably just go to Camp Jupiter, I don't want to impose on your home for any longer." He told her.

„Nonsense, I told you that you could stay as long as you like and I meant it." Hestia said.

„Are you sure? I mean, going to Camp Jupiter is no problem." Percy tried halfheartedly.

„Percy, do you want to go to Camp Jupiter?" Hestia challenged.

„I want to meet my friends, yes, but . . . no, not really."

„Then it's settled. You're staying with me."

„I feel like I've been saying it so much it hardly means anything anymore but, thank you."

„It's no problem, Percy. Now, I'll ask you again, what do you want to do today?"

„Uhh, I don't know. Anything I want?"

„Within reason, yes." Percy thought for a while, even tapping a finger on his chin. Hestia giggled a little, making Percy grin. Yes, Hestia, the eldest child of Kronos and Rhea, perhaps the wisest Olympian along with the goddess of wisdom herself, actually giggled, looking every bit like an actual eighteen year old girl.

They were both startled as Hermes suddenly flashed in. He seemed a bit disoriented, like he wasn't where he thought he'd be. After a few seconds of looking around, he spotted Percy and Hestia sitting at the table and looking at him with eyebrows raised.

„Ah, sorry for interrupting your, uh, breakfast," He said awkwardly. „If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here, Perce?"

„I had nowhere to go after I left camp and Hestia was nice enough to let me stay here." Percy told him. Hermes nodded in understanding.

„Um, I'm sorry for what happened at camp. I know that my son was a part of your problems and I apologize for that." He said. Percy winced slightly before sighing.

„It's alright Lord Hermes. The actions of your son aren't your fault." Percy said.

„Still, I'm sorry. Also, you can just call me Hermes, no need for that Lord stuff. You've earned that much." Hermes said. Percy smiled.

„Thanks, Hermes." He said. Hermes smiled back before realizing something.

„Hey, you said you had nowhere to go after you left camp, what about your mother? Doesn't she live in New York?" He asked.

„She did." Percy answered quietly. „But she and Paul . . . they were attacked at home and they're kind of in hiding right now. It'd be too dangerous for me to stay with them." Hermes's eyes widened.

„Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." He said.

„It's alright." Percy said.

„Did you have a reason for coming here, Hermes?" Hestia asked.

„Oh, right!" Hermes said. „Dad's called a council meeting and he told me to get everyone and Percy too, but since you're both here, I can just summon both of you. He didn't say why, though, just that you needed to be there." He said to Percy. Percy didn't know why Zeus would want him to be at a council meeting but he just nodded.

„We'll be there soon." Hestia said. Hermes smiled and saluted before flashing out.

„Why do you think Zeus wants me there?" Percy asked.

„I don't know." Hestia said, looking thoughtful.

„Well, only one way to find out." Percy said. Hestia rolled her eyes but flashed them both to the throne room. When they arrived they saw that all the other Olympians had already arrived.

Some looked at Percy questionably while others looked like they knew what was going on. Dionysus, who was usually either sleeping or reading a wine magazine looked almost excited. That made no sense. Dionysus didn't _do_ excited.

Hestia walked to her throne while Percy knelt before the King of the Gods.

„Council is in session." Zeus boomed and all chatter that was going on quieted down. He looked down at Percy like he would look at a piece of gum on the side of the road. „Perseus Jackson." He said.

„Uh, yes, Lord Zeus?" Percy said from his position on the floor.

„You have been brought before the council on suspicion of treason against Olympus."

 **A/N: Cue the dramatic music *DUN DUN DUUUUUN***

 **Actually, no. If you read the summary, which you obviously did, then you were most likely waiting for this. So not a huge surprise there. But still – for dramatic flair.**

 **Percy was accused of doing a lot of things in camp but obviously didn't do any of that. It will be explained in a later chapter, I promise.**

 **Review, follow, favorite, you know the drill, thanks.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	3. Council Meeting of Craziness

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **A/N: Hi! Thank you all for your reviews, follows and favorites. Now, I'm going to address the question of this being Percy/Hestia as it has, admittedly, been pointing towards . . . I haven't decided yet. I'm sorry but I don't know. It's a good possibility and a likely outcome but if anyone can give me a better idea then please do. Thank you.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Three – Council Meeting of Craziness**

The throne room was silent for a few seconds as people tried to wrap their heads around that statement.

"What?" Was the only thing Percy could say after the ridiculous announcement of Zeus.

"You heard me, boy. You are accused of high treason." Zeus said.

"What evidence do you have for this accusations?" Poseidon asked angrily.

"We have multiple witnesses that speak of Perseus's destruction of a part of Camp Half-Blood and assault on fellow half-bloods for no reason. We also have another witness that has reported that Perseus has been working against Olympus since the beginning." Athena said.

"Well, boy? What do you have to say to this?" Zeus questioned.

"Okay, yes, the stuff at camp was partly my fault but the other stuff makes no sense." Percy said.

"Aha!" Zeus exclaimed, only missing the finger snapping to perfect his cartoonish behavior. "So you admit to having willingly destroyed the camp, threatening the lives of innocent demigods. Seize him!" Immediately, Athena, Ares and Hephaestus sprang up from their thrones.

Before Percy could react, Athena had slammed the butt of her spear into his head while Ares swept his feet out from under him. When he fell Hephaestus grabbed his hands and chained them to a pole on the floor he had conjured up.

Poseidon sprang up from his throne with his trident in hand. "What are you doing to my son?!" He yelled at his younger brother. Zeus glared at him.

"Didn't you hear? He confessed to having caused much damage to the camp. He is a traitor to Olympus." He said. Hestia stood up.

"You don't know the full story, brother. Percy had a reason for doing what he did." She said. Zeus just scoffed at her.

"And what would that be?" He asked.

"Why don't we just ask him?" Apollo suggested, gesturing at Percy. "He is right there after all." Most on the council just stared at him, surprised that he could come up with a good idea while Zeus just looked annoyed at not being able to kill him yet.

"Alright then. Speak up, boy." Zeus told Percy.

"Okay, so a couple of days ago, I was in the forest looking for my girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend, actually." Percy said, muttering the last part.

"Why?" Athena demanded. "Did you break her heart, you worthless sea spawn?"

"Did _I_ break _her_ heart? No, Athena, it was the other way around which you would know if you'd have let me talk." Percy said. Athena glared at him but Percy didn't flinch away like she hoped. "Like I said, I was in the forest looking for Annabeth when I accidentally stumbled on a couple having sex in a clearing. It just so happened that one of those people was my girlfriend, at the time, Annabeth Chase." After Percy finished, many gods gasped, but some couldn't care less. Athena, however, got mad.

"How dare you?!" She yelled at Percy. "I know my daughter and she would never do anything like this. You are lying." Percy shook his head.

"I am not lying and I am not finished." He said, making some gods chuckle at Athena's red face. "I got angry as you can imagine, and knocked out the guy with her, Chris Rodriguez, because he was annoying and I wanted to let his girlfriend have the honor of beating the crap out of him. Then I started yelling at Annabeth.

"Sometime in my rant a storm and an earthquake formed. Annabeth also told me that she had been cheating on me for two years and not only with Chris but with another guy too. I calmed down, broke things off with Annabeth and walked back to camp.

"There I realized the full extent of the damages I accidentally caused. When a group of campers came to me I told Clarisse that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Then I found the other guy Annabeth had been cheating on me. After I found Will Solace, I knocked him out too and told Nico, his boyfriend, about his infidelity. Then I left camp and haven't been back there since." Percy finished. The council was silent for a minute before Zeus spoke again.

"While that may be true, we have no way to confirm it. And besides, we have witnesses to your other crimes." He said.

"What crimes?" Percy asked. Zeus snapped his fingers and a goddess Percy hadn't met before but heard all about, appeared.

"Tell the council of Perseus's crimes." Zeus told the goddess.

"Yes of course." Khione said. "As you know, I was tricked into working with the giants and Gaea in the last war. While working with them I was informed that they had a spy in the prophecy of seven. That spy was Perseus Jackson. How else do you think he made it through Tartarus? Then, when it was apparent that Gaea would lose, Perseus betrayed her and pretended to be a hero."

When Khione finished, the throne room practically exploded with sound as every Olympian and Percy were yelling something. Finally Zeus threw his master bolt at the ground and everyone quieted down.

"Good. Now let's act like adults and convict Perseus of his crimes." Zeus said. Percy's eyes widened.

"What? You believe her?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes, of course, she didn't betray us willingly like you appear to have." Athena said.

"Make her swear it on the Styx! She won't be able to do that but I can do that to prove my innocence." Percy said.

"Nonsense." Zeus said. „We all know that Styx is married to a Titan and you could have some sort of deal with her for all we know."

"Are you joking, Zeus? Percy doesn't have that kind of influence." Hestia said.

"What do you know? You've only been on this council for a little over a year." Ares said. Percy was about to yell at him for insulting her but stopped when Apollo spoke.

"Percy is telling the truth." He said.

"How would you know?" Dionysus asked.

"I am the god of truth, you idiot." Apollo said, irritated.

"Perhaps so, but you could be wrong. I won't take that chance." Zeus said, leaving Apollo gob smacked before he turned angry.

"I am not wrong." He said forcefully. "Truth is my domain and I know that I am right. You don't see me telling you how to shoot your lightning bolts, do you? No. So don't you start telling me how to do my job." Apollo finished angrily. The council stared at the usually carefree god in shock. He had never spoken to his father that way before.

"SILENCE!" Zeus thundered. „I will not be spoken to this way. I am king and my word is law!" Apollo glared at Zeus for a few seconds before turning away. Zeus smiled arrogantly before looking at the goddess standing in front of his throne.

"Khione, leave us." He said. The snow goddess turned to Percy and winked before flashing out. "Let us vote." Zeus said.

"Wait, father." Athena said.

"What is it, daughter?" He asked her.

"We are an even number and the vote could end in a draw." She told him.

"Hmm, yes. One of us must abstain from voting. Does anyone volunteer?" He asked. Nobody volunteered. "Very well, then I will choose the one who will not participate in this vote. Aphrodite, you will sit this one out." Zeus decided.

"What? Why?" The love goddess asked.

"Do not question me!" Zeus roared.

"Fine." Aphrodite muttered with a dirty glare at Zeus. She sent an apologetic glance at Percy who nodded, understanding her.

"Good. Now all who claim Perseus innocent raise your hand." Poseidon, Hestia, Hades, Hermes, Apollo and Artemis, put their hands up. "All who claim Perseus guilty?" Zeus, Hera, Athena, Dionysus, Ares, Hephaestus and Demeter put their hands up.

"It is decided." Athena said. "Perseus is guilty of treason against Olympus."

"Perseus Jackson," Zeus started. "You are sentenced to an eternity in Tartarus!" Percy and the gods who voted for him were shocked.

Percy looked around at the gods towering over him before letting his head drop down to his chest. It broke Hestia's heart to see Percy so hopeless. She had to do something.

"Brother." She said to Zeus. "Let those who wish to say goodbye do so. It is only fair." Zeus contemplated it for a few seconds before nodding.

"You have five minutes." He announced. The gods who voted for him and Aphrodite were quick to jump of their thrones and run to Percy in their human size.

When they reached him, they had a silent agreement. Hades formed a dome out of earth around them while Poseidon and Hestia made a second and third dome outside of it, made of water and fire, respectively.

"Fuck your five minutes." Hades muttered to no one in particular.

Poseidon then dropped down to his knees next to his son and freed him from his bonds. "Son, I am so sorry. I will go to war with Zeus. I will get the support of all the minor gods you have honored with your wish from the Titan War and the gods in here will help me and-"

"Dad, stop." Percy interrupted. "You can't go to war."

"What?" Hades asked. "But they are about to send you to a place that makes my Fields of Punishment seem like Elysium."

"I know. I've been there, remember." Percy said dryly. "But you can't go to war. Not now."

"What do you mean?" Hermes asked.

"I think there is going to be a third war." Percy said. The gods apart from Hestia, who had already been told, gasped in shock.

"Why do you think that?" Artemis asked.

"My mom and my stepdad. They were attacked last month." He said.

"Is Sally hurt?" Poseidon questioned his son. Percy shook his head fervently.

"No, she's fine. There were three dracaenae that came to the apartment but I was there at the time so I killed them all. But one of them told me that they had been sent by those who would plunge the world into darkness and burn it with light. It made no sense, but that's what she said." The six gods were silent after the revelation. Then Apollo spoke up.

"Percy, I have no idea how hard it will be for you in Tartarus but I want to make sure that you have all the advantages that you can." He said. Percy looked at him questionably and Apollo continued. "I want to give you my blessing."

"That is actually a very good idea." Hestia said. "I'll give you mine as well."

"Count me in." Hermes said.

"I'm sorry Perseus. I cannot bless another child of the big three." Hades said apologetically.

"And my blessing is reserved for my hunters only." Artemis told him.

"My blessing wouldn't do you any good. I'm so sorry." Aphrodite said, looking close to tears.

"It's okay, really. You don't have to do anything like that. Any of you." Percy stated.

Apollo walked up to him and put his finger on Percy's forehead, sending a golden pulse of light into him.

"My blessing includes good archery skills, healing powers and awesome musical talents, though they probably won't do you any good where you're going and your archery is probably too bad to get any better." He said in a weak attempt at humor, then he got even more serious and bent down to whisper in Percy's ear.

"I have also given you a power that none of my children have ever inherited. This is a very dangerous power and can have disastrous consequences if it gets out of hand but I am trusting you with it. The power to control plagues and diseases." Percy's eyes widened.

"Um, thank you, Apollo." He said quietly. Apollo just nodded.

"I'm next." Hermes said. He did the same as Apollo but his pulse was blue. "My blessing gives you great stealth skills, makes you faster and a very good thief."

"Thank you." Percy told him.

Then there was Hestia, Percy's favorite goddess. She sent a pulse of orange fire into Percy's forehead and as soon as she did the gods all stepped back, much to Percy's confusion.

"What?" He asked. Hestia summoned him a mirror and he recoiled in shock. His eyes were pits of sea green fire. "Whoa." He breathed. "Can I change them back?" He asked.

"Yes." Hestia said. "Just think about making them normal." Percy did as he was told and sure enough, they changed back to normal. "Now, my blessing gives you control over fire, adds to the healing powers you got from Apollo, allows you to summon home-cooked meals and lets you control hope." Hestia said. Then Poseidon stepped forward.

"I will unlock your full potential as a son of the sea." Poseidon told his son.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked with furrowed brows.

"You will be able to generate your own water much easier and vapor travel, to mention a few." Poseidon said as he put his finger to Percy's forehead. Percy smiled and hugged his father.

"I have something for you, Perseus." Hades informed him. Percy turned to him and saw that he had something in his hands. At a closer look he saw that it was a black knife sheath with a knife in it.

He took it from Hades and drew the knife. It was a combat knife made of Stygian Iron and the sheath was made to put on a leg or thigh. Percy sheathed the knife and strapped it to his right thigh. Then he thanked his uncle and bowed to him.

"Perce, I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that you don't need to bow to us." Apollo said as Percy stood from the bow. Percy looked around and saw the gods nodding in agreement. Percy smiled.

"Thanks, guys." He said. „But if I am supposed to do that then you have to promise to stop calling me Perseus." The gods chuckled lightly and agreed to his terms.

"Perse – Percy," Artemis corrected. "I would like to give you something as well." She handed Percy an identical sheath to the one he had gotten from Hades. As Percy unsheathed it he saw that it was made from silver. He thanked the goddess and sheathed it on his left thigh. He was about to say something else when he was tapped on the shoulder.

Aphrodite had walked up to him and waved her hand over him. His clothes glowed for a second before going back to normal. "Your clothes will repair themselves if they are damaged and will never get dirty." The love goddess explained when she saw Percy's questioning gaze. Percy thanked her as well.

Percy was about to speak to the gods when he noticed that Hestia was gone. When he turned to look for her he noticed her walking toward the hearth, which was at the edge of the dome the gods had created. She picked something up and walked back to the group of people who were now all looking at her. Hestia came to a stop in front of Percy he finally saw what she had in her hand.

"This is as close to a symbol of power as I can get." She said as she held up the stick she used to poke the hearth before she became an Olympian.

"What? I can't take this." Percy said.

"Yes, you can and yes, you will." Hestia said as she lifted Percy's hand and pushed the stick into his palm.

To everyone's immense shock, the stick elongated in a six and a half foot long staff as soon as Percy's fingers enclosed it. When the staff had reached its intended six and a half feet, a silver blade shot out of the top end, making it a seven and a half foot long naginata. At everyone's shocked looks Hestia scoffed lightly.

"I may be a peaceful goddess but I'm not defenseless." She said.

"I thought you were Greek." Percy said, raising the naginata. "This is an Asian weapon."

Hestia playfully stuck her tongue out at Percy who laughed lightly. Then Hestia looked at the weapon. "If you want, you can make the blade retract into the staff."

Percy focused on the weapon and the blade retracted soundlessly. "Since it is your weapon now, you can also change its shape accordingly." Hestia informed him. Percy, again, focused on the weapon and within a few seconds it morphed into a brown pen that he put in his left pocket, the one that didn't contain Riptide.

Percy turned to Hestia and gave her a tight hug which she returned eagerly. "Thank you Hestia." He said.

"You're welcome, Percy." She said with a smile. Then Hermes drew all the gods into a huddle.

"Wait a second, Perce, I just have to run something by these guys." He said. Percy nodded, not sure what was happening. After a while of hushed whispering, the gods straightened out, most of them with mischievous grins on their faces.

"Well, Percy, we've decided to give you one more gift." Poseidon told him.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"We want to give you the ability to turn into one of our sacred animals." Apollo said.

"Uh, wow. That's crazy, I don't even know what all your secret animals are." Percy admitted.

"Well, mine are doves and sparrows." Aphrodite said.

"Mine are donkeys and cranes." Hestia informed him.

"Mine are roe deer, swans, cicadas, hawks, ravens, crows, foxes, mice, and snakes." Apollo said.

"Mine include deer, bears, and wild boars." Artemis stated.

"My sacred animals are the tortoise, the ram, and the hawk." Hermes told him.

"Mine is the screech owl." Hades said.

"And mine are the horse, dolphin, fish and bull." Poseidon commented.

"Wow," Percy said. "Did you guys all choose your sacred animals and Apollo got everything that was left? He's got like ten or something." The gods laughed but Apollo looked indignant.

"I have nine, thank you very much." He said. Percy laughed.

"I'm just kidding." He told the sun god. Then he became quiet as he thought about it for a few minutes. "I think I would like to turn into a fox or a bear. I choose . . . fox." Apollo grinned as Artemis groaned.

"Yes!" He cheered. Then he put his finger on Percy's forehead yet again and sent another pulse into him. Seriously, he'd probably have a hole in there after all that stuff.

Percy closed his eyes and thought about the fox. He, surprisingly, found a lot of information about foxes and each species. He focused on the red fox and felt his body changing.

His face elongated into a snout and his ears got longer and pointier. He shrunk in size and got down on four feet. Suddenly a tail burst from his tailbone. The entire thing was rather uncomfortable, though not painful, and took about five seconds.

Percy looked up at the gods who suddenly seemed very tall. He decided to try this out further later and turned back. Thankfully, he was still fully clothed.

"Well, now we know that this works." Hermes said cheerfully.

"I still think you should have chosen the bear, stupid male." Artemis grumbled. Percy chuckled before turning serious.

"Thank you. For everything." He told them. They smiled at him, even Artemis.

"It's us who should be thanking you Perce." Apollo said. Hermes nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry we couldn't be of any more help." He said apologetically. Percy just smiled.

"You guys did more than I could have imagined. I mean, I've got your blessings and you gave me seriously sweet weapons. Now I can even turn into a fox." He said. Percy then took a deep breath. "Well, it's time." He said.

"According to the limit Zeus gave us, it was time twenty minutes ago." Hades said, chuckling. Percy smiled slightly before realizing something.

"Hey guys, you have to chain me down again." He said as he got down to his knees again.

"Why?" Hermes asked.

"I don't want you guys to get into any more trouble than you already are. Also, I want to try something." Percy told them.

The gods shared a look before Apollo shrugged and chained Percy up again. After that, Hades, Poseidon and Hestia let go of their barriers to see an enraged Zeus and a pissed off council.

"I said five minutes." Zeus said angrily.

"Sorry about that, pops. Lost track of time." Hermes said, shrugging. The gods with him had to stifle a chuckle while Zeus's red face turned even redder. The gods who voted for Percy just stepped to the side, not wanting to go to their thrones.

Zeus managed to compose himself a little bit and snap his fingers, opening up a chasm behind Percy's kneeling form. He then drew back his arm and prepared to throw his master bolt but faltered slightly. "What has happened?" He asked. "Why is the boy more powerful than before?"

Percy suddenly stood up, rubbing his wrists. The gods on the council were shocked. Percy turned to Hermes and winked, making him smile proudly at how quickly Percy had learned lock picking. And that on a creation of Hephaestus.

Percy looked up on the council. "You have a wisdom goddess by your side, I'm sure you can figure it out." He said cheekily before turning serious.

"If I'm going down again, I'm going down on my own terms." He said. "But hear this, there is a new war on the horizon, one which you will struggle with and when you realize your mistake, you will need my help. You will _beg_ for my help. But I will not be here. And I will not fight for Olympus ever again." Percy practically spat at the council. Then he turned to the other gods.

"But I will always fight for my family and friends." He said so quietly only they could hear him. "Thank you for everything, guys." Percy whispered with a smile so sad it shouldn't have been legal. Then Percy turned to the council and saluted Zeus by showing him his middle finger before back flipping down into Tartarus.

 **A/N: Chapter 3 done. How will Percy fare in Tartarus? Find out in the next chapter.**

 **I'd like to give some virtual cookies to Gold Testament for being smart and mentioning Apollo's domain of truth in connection to Zeus's false accusations against Percy. It was already my plan to do so (I promise, I'd already written it. I'd totally give you credit if I had gotten the idea from you), but well done.**

 **Since you were so smart, I'll talk about another part of your review; Yes, Poseidon and Hades are extremely mad at both Athena and Annabeth. Ares, however, hates Percy a lot more. He also hardly cares about his daughter's life other than her battlefield prowess.**

 **Review, follow, favorite, the usual.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	4. Coming Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Four – Coming Down**

Shit. Fuck. Shit.

That and many, many other profanities were the only thing going through Percy's mind as he plummeted to the personification of hell on earth. Or under the earth. Whatever.

He never once thought he'd go back there after fighting his way through the last time. And he wasn't just going to Tartarus. He actually jumped in. Well, that was much more dignified than being shot down by Zeus's master bolt. And a Hades of a lot less painful.

He was angry. Angry at the gods. Angry at the campers. Angry at the fates. Angry at the world.

But at the same time he was happy. Happy that he had friends that stuck up for him. Happy that said friends did everything they could to make sure he would survive.

Suddenly Percy stopped. He just stopped dead in midair. His head swiveled in all directions as he managed to right himself in the air and he noticed that he wasn't in the same dark tunnel as he was just seconds before. Instead he was floating in midair with nothing but black around him.

Suddenly a man materialized right in front of him. He wore a stylish, black suit, a black shirt, and a white tie. His skin was incredibly pale. The man's hair was cut short and was just as black as his eyes. Yep, that's right, his eyes were completely black. Like no difference between pupil, iris and sclera. Just black.

"Perseus Jackson." Said the man in a perfectly apathetic voice that made Nico's Goth-moments look like he was a bubbly Aphrodite kid.

"Uh, yeah?" He asked.

"You have done many great things and have many great things left to do."The man said.

"Um, okay. That's fairly cryptic." Percy said. "But, in case you didn't notice, I was kind of in the middle of falling to Tartarus."

"Yes, I know."

"Okay . . . why did you stop me and transport me away? And how did you do that? What do you want with me? Who are you?"

"Relax, son of Poseidon, I mean you no harm."

"Right. You'll hopefully forgive me for not believing you right away. In my experience, more powerful beings don't interrupt a person's fall to hell unless they want something."

"I wish to aid you in your journey through my son's pit."

"Oh. Okay, thanks. Why, though? And did you say _son_?"

"Yes, I said son. I am Chaos, the creator of all, father to the Primordials."

Percy was completely speechless after that statement. How are you supposed to react when an omnipotent being – the first being – approaches you and offers help in your little trip to Tartarus? Especially when that being is the father of the primordial goddess you helped put back to sleep only a year earlier (after being the one who actually woke her up, but that's a minor detail).

"Um, it's, uh, it's an honor to meet you, I guess."

"So as you now know, I am Chaos. I have been watching you your entire life and your achievements are very impressive."

 _Wow, that guy brings the term creepy stalker to a whole new level._ Percy thought.

"You, Perseus," Chaos continued. "Are the greatest hero to walk the earth. You have had a difficult life and it will only get more so as you move forward. You do not deserve the fate that has befallen you."

"I don't think I'm the greatest hero ever." Percy muttered.

"Such modesty. Well enough about that. You know of the rising threat."

"Yeah, the plunging into darkness and burning with light thing?"

"Yes, that dracaena was rather theatrical, I must say."

"Who is it really. I mean, she said that _they_ will come, so it's more than one guy or girl up top, right?"

"Indeed. When Gaea awoke, it sent a ripple through the forces of the world. Two Primordials are waking up as we speak."

"Are you serious?! Two?!"

"Yes, two. My son, Erebus, and his own son, Aether, are waking and will stop at nothing until the earth is theirs again. Their wives are already awake but they will not fight in this war. If they win, however, the other Primordials will awaken and the universe will be theirs."

"Erebus and Aether? The Primordials of darkness and light. Now that dracaena is starting to make a little more sense." Percy said thoughtfully before turning slightly angry. "But I don't see why you're telling me this. I was sentenced to Tartarus and I can't help anyone. Not that I'd want to anyway.

"We both know that is not true, Perseus."Percy glared defiantly at the creator of the universe until he sighed.

"You're right. I would help if I could. But I can't do that. Unless you're here to bail me out?" Percy suggested hopefully.

"No. I cannot do that. I am heavily restricted by my ancient laws and, technically, just being here is a violation of them."Percy sighed, having expected that.

"Well, you said you were going to help me. How are you going to do that?" He asked.

"My son has agreed to let you traverse the pit. He will not harm you."

"Really? Great."

"That is not all. I also have one more gift."

"Of course you do. Alright, shoot."

"I will make you my champion." If Percy had been drinking something, he definitely would have done a spit-take.

"What?" He asked.

"I will make you my champion." Chaos repeated.

"I don't have a say in this?"

"I have already decided."

"Alright, fine." Percy said, not seeing the point of arguing with a being so much more powerful than him that saying that he was like a drop of water while Chaos was every single body of water on the earth would be exaggerating Percy's power by so much it was almost ridiculous. "What would that mean, anyway?" Percy asked.

"I would give you my blessing. Or _a_ blessing, at least. You would get more power to help you in Tartarus and perhaps the coming war. You would not be affected by any change in the atmosphere."

"So . . . I could breathe in space?"

"Yes."

"Um, wow. That's awesome. I mean, uh, yeah. Yeah, I would be honored to be your champion."

Chaos didn't answer but Percy suddenly felt a rush of energy and his strained breathing turned normal. He didn't know it yet but his white sclera turned pitch black.

"Woah." He said. "What power did I get? Or did you just increase the ones I already have?"

"Your powers have all increased but I also gave you a different power. But as for what it is . . . I cannot say."Chaos told him. Percy frowned.

"Why?" He asked.

"That is something you must find out on your own. And I believe it won't take you long."

"Alright. Well, thank you." Chaos only nodded, he was definitely not one for pointless conversation. Percy smiled slightly before thinking of something.

"Hey Chaos?"

"Yes, Perseus?"

"Could I maybe, instead of being a _champion_ of Chaos, be an _agent_ of Chaos. That sounds seriously badass."

"If you wish."The creator acquiesced.

„Sweet." Percy said, smiling.

"My time is at an end. I will let you resume your falling now. But beware, your time in my son's pit will be anything but pleasant."

With that Percy started falling again. He wasn't expecting such a sudden sendoff so he tumbled around in the air until he managed to right himself and muttered under his breath about stupid creators and damn pits and whatnot.

After falling for a very, very long time, Percy saw the opening. He fell down into the large cavern and saw immediately that this wasn't the same place he fell down last time and there was no river this time. Meaning, he was about to fall to his death.

"Come on Percy, think." He said to himself before it struck him. "The blessings!" After quickly running through his powers in his head, he found the right one.

Focusing on Hestia's blessing, fire started forming in his hands. He put them down to his sides and increased the intensity. He started slowing down but it wasn't enough. Suddenly, fire shot out of the soles on his feet. As he started to control his descent, Percy was sure he looked like a badass demigod version of Iron Man.

He came to a halt a few inches above the ground and stopped the output of fire. The sudden lack of resistance coupled with the loss of energy after exhausting his untrained fire powers caused him to tumble to the ground and land in an undignified heap. Percy let out a groan of pain as he rolled over on his back.

He slowly stood up and saw that Tartarus hadn't become any more hospitable since he was there last but at least he seemed to be able to breathe the air without it killing him.

Percy looked himself over and saw that all of his clothes were in perfect condition. "They were given to me by Hestia and blessed by Aphrodite so it makes sense that they'd be fireproof."He said absentmindedly to himself.

 _Well, this is fantastic_ Percy thought sarcastically, looking over the pit as he started to search for a place he could rest. After around ten minutes of walking extra slowly he found a small cave. "This'll have to do for now." He said. Percy walked in and, after making sure nothing else was in the cave, he lay down as far in as he could and immediately fell asleep.

Percy woke to some voices outside his small cave, something he had never done before. He always slept like a log. _Must be Hermes's blessing._ Percy thought offhandedly.

"I swear, it's here, milord." Said a female voice, obviously scared out of her mind.

"Well, I don't see anything." Said another voice, this time male. It sounded vaguely familiar, though.

"He is here, I can sense the child." Now, that was a voice Percy recognized immediately. That deep, powerful voice that sounded like nails being drawn down a chalkboard and sent shivers down Percy's spine every time he heard it. But it was impossible; he wasn't supposed to reform for at least a few millennia.

With the blessing of Hermes it was no problem for Percy to sneak out of the cave and behind a rock where he could spring on his enemies. They were looking for him, that much was obvious, so he'd just show them where he was.

As the group of four walked past him, Percy whipped out Riptide and had taken out both of the empousai before they could realize that they were being attacked. When he swung his sword at the next opponent, they blocked easily.

"Perseus Jackson. As annoying as always I see." Kronos said.

"It's time for a rematch, demigod." Hyperion stated.

"So, what do you say, a one-on-one between you guys and the winner takes on me?" Percy asked. Kronos laughed his creepy nails-on-chalkboard laugh and said,

"No, Perseus, I believe it will be much better if we just defeat you now."

"Well, it was worth a shot." Percy said shrugging as he raised Riptide. He was seriously tired and knew he had no chance of succeeding in a fight with two Titans but he decided to give it a try anyway.

He surged forward and caught both himself and the titans off guard with his speed but shook it off and slashed his sword at Hyperion's side, drawing a shallow gash. The titan recoiled and raised his own sword. By then, Kronos had also drawn his scythe. The three circled each other slowly. Percy used the time to study his opponents.

Hyperion looked pretty much the same as the last time he saw him. He was a tall and muscular man wearing golden armor that was hard to look at. Although it did seem a bit dimmer in the horrible atmosphere of Tartarus. His eyes were a bright gold that glowed with an intense light. He wasn't wearing a helmet and his hair looked like it was alight with a golden fire.

It was Kronos, though, who caught Percy's attention. Never having seen him in his normal form before, Percy was curious to say the least. Kronos was almost as tall as Hyperion but leaner. His hair was black and stylishly combed backwards. He was a handsome man, that much was easy to see, but what kind of ruined that for him was the multitude of scars running all across his face, similar to the ones on Prometheus's face but much deeper.

 _Then again, he was cut up into a thousand pieces. It'd be strange not to have scars._ Percy supposed.

"Your eyes. And your aura. Why are they different?" Kronos demanded.

"Do you like it? I changed it just for you." Percy mocked.

Before Kronos could retort, Hyperion lost his patience and he ran forward and stabbed his sword at Percy who parried skillfully and turned only to be slammed in the head by the butt of Kronos's scythe. Percy tumbled to the ground and rolled away, narrowly avoiding being skewered by the Titan of the east.

Percy jumped up and stepped down hard, creating a small earthquake that sent both Titans to the ground. He then leaped at Kronos and aimed a stab to his neck. Unfortunately he moved a little but still got a sword through the shoulder.

The Titan of time roared in outrage and pain and then lived up to his name as he sent Percy flying through the air and stopped him in time. Percy could only watch as the Titans picked themselves up of the ground and walked to him as he tried in vain to break from the time spell.

Percy noticed that Kronos's forehead was beaded with sweat, like freezing time around one person was straining him. _He must be pretty weak._ He thought. Percy fought Kronos's control and finally managed to break out. The moment he did, however, he was blasted back by a wave of fire from Hyperion.

"No! You idiot! I needed him alive!" Kronos yelled at Hyperion.

"I'm sorry, Lord Kronos. I did not expect him to break free." Hyperion said. Before they could debate any further another wave of fire pushed them back.

When the fire receded, Percy Jackson stood several feet in front of them, a thin layer of soot on his face and clothes but otherwise he was unhurt from Hyperion's attack. The strangest thing, though, was the ball of fire he held in his right hand.

"I learned a few tricks while you were gone." He said with a taunting smirk on his face. The Titans still stared in shock as Percy turned off the fire and pulled out Riptide again.

The Titans both came at him and Percy pulled out his Celestial bronze knife in his left hand and unexpectedly threw the combat knife at Kronos with pinpoint accuracy.

The Titan Lord's expression was one of disbelief until it became one of pain as he screamed with the knife embedded deep in his already wounded shoulder.

"You will burn for this, Jackson!" Hyperion bellowed. Before Percy could correct him and let him know that he actually couldn't burn Hyperion's body became brighter and brighter until he shot a beam of light into Percy's chest.

He may not have been able to burn with fire but light seemed to be a different matter altogether, although, Percy's everything-proof clothes stopped it from being a severe injury.

Percy was blasted off his feet and into the large rock he had hidden behind earlier and he swore he could _hear_ at least two of his ribs breaking. He got to his feet as quickly as he could and for the first time in his life, shot a concentrated blast of water out of his palm.

The blast hit Hyperion straight in the face and his light turned off. Percy ran forward and was about to finish him off when he felt a blinding pain in his right shoulder. When he looked down he saw the point of Kronos's scythe sticking out the front of his shoulder. Percy fell to his knees and only heard one last thing as his vision started to darken.

"At last, son of Poseidon, you are mine."

He felt the scythe being ripped from his shoulder before something connected hard with his skull and the darkness finally overcame him.

 **A/N: Aaand the fourth chapter ends with the ever loved cliffhanger. What is Kronos planning? What will happen to Percy? Find out more in the next chapter!**

 **So, okay, yes. An official confirmation of the cliché of Erebus being the villain – or one of the villains – and Percy being buddy-buddy with Chaos buuuuut I have a plan to change things up so please don't give up on me yet!**

 **Review, follow, favorite, whatever, please and thank you.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	5. Family Bonding Time

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Five – Family Bonding Time**

When the darkness receded from Percy's mind and he woke to consciousness, he was suddenly very aware of the throbbing pain in his head, side and shoulder. He held back a groan of pain as he forced his eyes open. What he saw was not pretty.

His shirt and jacket had been taken off, so he could see that his right shoulder was a bloody mess. The cut had been clean but the blood had clearly flowed freely from the wound for a while. The Titans obviously had something planned for him so they had closed the wound by cauterizing it, resulting in a nasty burn and the shoulder hurting immensely.

Percy knew that he'd need to fight to get out of there and so he needed his body in at least moderate shape. He had no idea how to use his newly gained healing powers, so he just did what felt right.

Suddenly, an orange-golden glow covered the injured parts. When it faded there was only a few inches long straight scar, trailing down from his shoulder, just below his collarbone, to about half way down his pectoral with a few burn marks around it. His ribs snapped back into place and his headache also pretty much just disappeared.

With the pain receded Percy felt seriously tired and slumped down as much as he could in his chains. He raised his head slightly to look around and saw that he was chained in the middle of a pretty big cave, with his hands stretched to the sides and his feet hovering a few inches of the ground. There was a crudely made stone door covering the entrance.

Percy tried to set his hands on fire and burn the chains but they seemed to be fire-resistant. Then he tried out one of his many new powers and shot water out of his palms which he froze and tried to break the chains.

They budged slightly but when they didn't move any further when he added more ice, he realized that it was the rapidly changing temperature from burning to freezing that weakened them.

He set the chains on fire again before freezing them and tugging on them. He repeated the process again a few times, the chains slowly weakening. After about half an hour Percy had managed to weaken the chains considerably but not enough to escape cleanly.

He was also incredibly tired after the constant usage of previously untrained powers. He figured it was only because of Chaos's blessing that he hadn't passed out of exhaustion much sooner.

When he was about to start up the fire again, the door was pushed open and the Titans Kronos and Hyperion came into light (pun very much intended). They looked at Percy and seemed slightly surprised that he was awake but quickly shook that off and gained a sadistic grin on their faces.

"I'm glad you're awake, Jackson." Kronos said. „Makes this a lot easier." Percy figured that he probably wouldn't want to know what 'this' was but decided to ask anyway.

"What?" He asked. Kronos smiled cruelly.

"Join us, grandson." He said. Percy's brain actually stopped at that before restarting.

"Um, again, what?" Percy asked dumbly.

"Join us in tearing Olympus down just like I told you I would. Brick by brick." Kronos said.

"Why would I even do that?" Percy inquired. Kronos just laughed.

"The Olympians sent you down here, did they not? Why not get revenge on them the old fashioned way. By killing them all." Kronos practically growled the last part at Percy.

"I won't betray my family." Percy told him. "And, besides, I technically jumped down myself."

"Your loyalty is amusing but it will get you killed." Kronos said.

"Well, they do call it a fatal flaw, after all." Percy said cheekily.

"Last chance, Jackson."

"I'm totally honored that you thought of me first for your little revenge games gramps, but I'll have to RSVP a no on that one." Percy stated. Kronos remained impassive as he delivered a thundering punch to Percy's abdomen, forcefully driving the air out of his lungs and breaking the ribs Percy had just finished healing.

"Then I suppose we'll have to do this the fun way." He said as he started chuckling maniacally. "Hyperion, _persuade_ him to join our cause. I'll be back later." Then Kronos stepped back outside and closed the door.

Hyperion stepped forward with a very sharp knife, just a little shorter than Percy's forearm. He grinned sadistically as he twirled the knife in his hands. Percy immediately started focusing on one of his powers, he needed to get out of there and he had no intention of staying any longer than necessary.

Hyperion slid the knife down Percy's chest, never actually letting it break the skin while Percy held his breath as he waited for the pain. Suddenly Hyperion lifted the knife for a split second before he pushed it down and trailed down Percy's chest and abdomen. He repeated the action twice in different directions, until he stepped back.

Percy was in agonizing pain. Much more than he should have been for three cuts. Hyperion chuckled as he saw the expression on his captive's face.

"Lovely isn't it?" He asked mockingly. "The blade is coated in manticore poison. Doesn't kill you but hurts quite a lot." Then he lifted the knife out of Percy's arm as he walked around him and stopped right behind him.

"Yes, it's absolutely fabulous." Percy managed to grunt out sarcastically. As soon as the words left his mouth he felt the knife carve a deep line on his left shoulder blade.

"That's strike one, Jackson." Hyperion said from his place behind Percy. "Don't give me any more of your annoying attitude.

"Well, I apologize for answering your question." Percy said. Hyperion responded by carving another deep line right by the first one. Percy grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, Jackson?" Hyperion asked.

"I liked you more as a maple tree." Percy said smirking.

"Shut up." Hyperion growled as he cut another line into Percy's shoulder, this time even deeper than the first two before he started slashing wildly with the knife for a few seconds, leaving deep gashes all over Percy's back. Percy tried to not make any sounds but couldn't stop a few grunts of pain and even a whimper or two from escaping.

The Titan of light then stepped back in front of Percy and smiled cruelly. "I wonder if you're completely fireproof." He said as he set his left hand on fire and laid it down on Percy's right side, just under his ribs.

Percy closed his eyes and prepared for the pain but it never came. He felt warmth on his side but no pain. He opened his eyes and saw Hyperion frowning as he failed to burn the son of Poseidon.

"Well, that's too bad, huh." Percy said. Hyperion suddenly smiled making Percy's stomach drop.

"There are more than one way to burn, Jackson." He said. A bright light illuminated his previously fiery hand so that Percy had to squeeze his eyes shut and turn away. Then a terrible pain hit Percy's side as Hyperion laid his glowing hand down. Percy tried but failed to hold in a scream of pain.

Then Hyperion stepped back and the pain lessened a fraction. Percy opened his eyes to see an ugly burn on his side in the form of a hand. He looked up at Hyperion and spat in his face. Hyperion recoiled and swiped the mix of saliva and blood out of his eyes.

"That's strike four and five, demigod." He growled. Hyperion went back behind Percy and carved a fourth line next to the other three. Then he cut the fifth diagonally across the others.

He then walked back in front of Percy and opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was stopped as he suddenly erupted in a coughing fit. Hyperion's throat started closing and he dropped the knife as he fell to his knees on the floor.

Percy managed to grin through the pain as he watched his handiwork and set to healing his own injuries. After ten minutes or so he was pretty healthy and almost pain-free but he knew that he had scars. Then he started back with his escape. Hyperion was completely out of it on the floor and didn't even register Percy trying to get away.

After a while, Percy managed to break the chains and landed heavily on the ground. He stretched his body and winced as he heard the popping of his joints. He looked down and saw that both his knives were strapped to his thighs, even the one he had thrown at Kronos. He then put his hands in his pockets and felt both his pens. _Wow, how arrogant can you get?_ He thought.

Percy looked down at the form of Hyperion. He was still hacking and coughing like his life depended on it. His skin had lost all its glow and was pale and sweaty. _Man, I've got to remember thanking Apollo again if I ever get out of here. This disease power is awesome._

Percy picked up the bloody knife that had caused him a lot of pain in a short amount of time. "Hey, Hyperion." Percy said. Hyperion managed to lift his head to look at Percy and his eyes widened. Percy gave a cheeky grin and said, "My advice, stay as a tree next time." Then he stabbed the knife through the top of the Titan's head killing him instantly.

Hyperion suddenly started to glow as he disintegrated but before Percy had any time to think anything of it, Hyperion had finished turning to dust and the glow shot into Percy's chest.

When it entered his body Percy felt a massive rush of energy. Every bit of tiredness he had felt from being tortured and exerting his powers completely disappeared. His skin started to glow and he felt himself become more powerful. After coming down from the power high he realized just what had happened.

"Is that the power I got from Chaos?" He asked himself. "To take the power of immortals when I kill them?"

"Indeed it is, Perseus."Sounded Chaos's voice suddenly from behind him. Percy jumped and turned, not having expected a reply.

"Shit." He cursed. "Don't do that!" Chaos just remained as stoic as ever.

"Apologies, Perseus."

"Yeah, whatever." He muttered. "Hey, I didn't make him fade, did I?"

"No, you did not. But you can."Percy's eyes widened.

"I can make immortals fade?" He asked, shocked.

"Yes, you can, but you take over their domains if you do so."Percy nodded, not actually understanding what that meant.

"What do I have to do to make someone fade?" He asked.

"Simply think of it. You are very powerful, Perseus, and you will only get more powerful as time passes."

"Okay, so if I want to make Kronos fade, I just have to kill him and think of him fading?" Percy asked.

"It is that simple. But I have to warn you, the first time doing so will be painful."

"Why?"

"Explaining it will not do it justice. You have to experience it to understand."Percy sighed.

"Fine. Do you know where gramps is?"

"He is headed your way now and will be at your location in four minutes and eighteen seconds. Prepare yourself, Perseus." Then Chaos disappeared.

"Alright, then. Time to force the king of the Titans to fade." Percy said to himself with a feral grin. There were no hiding places in the cave so he decided to go old school; hide behind the door.

A few minutes later, just like Chaos had said – he was all-knowing after all – Kronos started pushing the door open. When the door started moving, Percy crammed himself behind it. Kronos walked in the cave and looked up.

"How are we doing, grandson?" He asked. Then he froze in his steps as he laid eyes upon the broken chains and pile of dust on the floor. "Jackson!" Kronos bellowed. Percy walked out from his hiding place behind the door, throwing caution to the wind in favor of doing what always had been his greatest talent; pissing immortals off.

"I'm fine thank you, gramps." He said with a crooked grin. Kronos turned around and his eyes widened. Quickly composing himself he held out his hand and his scythe flew in the door. Seeing the Titan arm himself, Percy decided to do the same. He put his left hand into his pocket and pulled out his brown pen.

"This is the first time I'll ever use this so you should feel very special." Percy told the Titan as the pencil elongated into a staff.

"A stick?" Kronos asked incredulously before starting to laugh. His laughter died in his throat however when an illogically sharp blade shot out of the end of the staff. Percy just smirked.

The two circled each other slowly until Percy shot forward. He closed the few feet of space between them very quickly and slashed forward. This was his first time using something like it, so his skill wasn't as good as it could have been but it was definitely not bad. Not bad, however, was not enough when opposed to an enemy like Kronos, who blocked easily.

Kronos pushed him back and got on the offensive. It was all Percy could do to keep up with him.

Percy and Kronos went back and forward for a few minutes, hacking, slashing, stabbing, blocking, dodging, parrying and everything in between with Kronos able to gain the upper hand. Then he decided to use his powers.

Suddenly Percy felt like he was moving through Jell-O and realized right away what was going to happen. He saw Kronos's scythe coming sideways at his head and he channeled into the first power he could think of; what was formerly Hyperion's.

Bright light illuminated the previously dark cave and Kronos recoiled away from Percy as the light assaulted his eyes. His scythe pulled up short but managed to catch Percy in the jaw as he rolled away. Percy stood up and had a fairly deep wound running from his left jaw to about an inch from his chin.

Percy used Kronos's temporary blindness to his advantage as he shot a torrent of water out of his hands and froze the Titan to a wall.

He saw that Kronos was exhausted from using his powers again so he gave himself a few seconds to catch his breath as he prepared for what was without a doubt one of, if not the most, important moments of his life.

Percy straightened himself out and walked towards Kronos. He stopped three feet away from him and looked the Titan king dead in the eye. "Any last words, grandfather?" He asked.

Kronos started glowing but Percy thrust the butt of his naginata in the Titan's face, temporarily stunning him. "I will be back." Kronos growled. "And next time I'll kill you the second I get the chance." Percy just laughed.

"That's exactly the thing, Kronos." Percy told him. "You're never coming back." And with that he set his naginata on fire and plunged it through the Titan's neck, willing him to fade. Kronos's eyes widened as he began to disappear.

Percy felt all of his energy flow into his blade and into the immortal being in front of him, tearing the Titan king's body apart atom by atom and sending it to the Void.

Just like with Hyperion, light drained out of Kronos's body. But unlike Hyperion, Kronos didn't turn to dust, he just started flickering and then disappeared. Faded out of existence.

When he was gone, the light shot into Percy's chest and he dropped to the ground as he felt unimaginable pain. His mouth opened but his scream of pain was stuck in his throat.

Holding the sky was nothing compared to that. Even bathing in the Styx paled in comparison to the pain he felt at that moment. Percy literally felt his body burn away and his blood evaporate in his veins. For a fraction of a second, Percy Jackson didn't exist. Then as soon as it started, it stopped. His body was recreated and his blood replaced by golden ichor. Percy gasped. The power was insane.

His body became pure energy and the cavern exploded from around him in a gigantic mushroom cloud, cratering the ground in at least a few mile radius.

When he realized what was happening he, with a titanic effort, managed to literally pull himself together and the pit went absolutely quiet.

"9:47 p.m." Percy panted. „Wait, what?"

Percy shook off the weirdness and stood up. Acting on a hunch, he held out his hand and a scythe materialized. Not just any scythe, though. No, this was Kronos's scythe. The scythe glowed golden, acknowledging its new master. Then Percy suddenly saw Chaos appear in front of him and heard him speak.

"All hail Perseus Jackson, Titan of time and harvest."

 **A/N: Chapter five done and Percy is a Titan. What will happen next?**

 **So, yes, I know the 'torture' scene was probably awful but I just did the first thing that came to mind and it doesn't really play any part in the story so it hardly matters.**

 **I got the idea for Percy's power from reading BloodRedDemon's story Purgatory. It's an awesome story and I'd recommend it for any Percy Jackson loving dude or dudette.**

 **Merry Christmas to you all who celebrate Christmas. I hope you all have a great day, Christian or otherwise.**

 **Now, as it is Christmas I was hoping to get your input on some of my other story ideas. Review and tell me which story, if any, you would like to read. Thanks.**

 **Resistance and Retribution (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)** **\- Kronos wins the second Titan war after Annabeth Chase betrays Olympus. Percy almost dies when he is stabbed in his Achilles spot but manages to survive through pure determination and burning desire for revenge.**

 **Marvel's Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Avengers Crossover)** **-** **After leaving camp two years after the 2nd Giant War, Percy Jackson realizes that his specific skill set isn't good for much in the mortal world so he becomes a mercenary, the best mercenary. Years later, the mortal world faces danger from the godly world once again. Or a godly world, anyway. This time, though, it's the mortals' own fight. Mostly.**

 **Also, follow, favorite, y'know. Please?**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	6. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Six – New Beginnings**

Percy spun around to face the creator of the universe. "What?" he asked, very loudly. "I'm a Titan?!"

"That you are. I did tell you this would happen," Chaos told him.

"When did you do that?"

"I told you that in order for you to be able to make immortals fade you would have to take their domains."

"Oh, yeah. But I didn't think you meant it so literally."

"That is your problem, Perseus."

"Yeah," he sighed. Then his expression became one of horror. "Wait, if I'm a Titan, does that mean that I have to follow the ancient laws? And did I lose all my other powers?"

"No, you do not. As my champion, or agent, you aren't affected by them at all. And you keep your other powers as well. Your connection to your father allows you to keep your powers from him, your powers from Hestia connect directly to the ones you took from Hyperion, your enhanced condition from Hermes is something that happened anyway when you became immortal and Apollo . . . well, his gift is stronger than any given before."

"Okay, that's good. I guess. So, I can slow down time now?"

"You can move it in any direction. Slow it down, speed it up, stop it completely and even rewind it. Anything you can imagine."

"Rewind?"

"Yes, rewind. But that is not easy and should not be toyed with."

"Yeah, I realize that."

"Also, you get powers over plants, as you are Titan of harvest too."

"Wait, Kronos was the Titan of the harvest?"

"Yes, he was. And now you are." Percy couldn't control himself, he burst out laughing. "What is it you find so humorous, Perseus?"

"It's just that Kronos was like an evil Demeter," he managed to wheeze out in between breaths.

"I do not see the humor in that."

"Of course you don't," Percy sighed, the moment effectively ruined by the creator. "What do I do with the scythe?"

"It is yours to do with as you please. It will appear and disappear as needed and will always return to your hand should you will it so. You could also change its shape if you so wished, like with your staff."Percy thought about it and the scythe turned into the sword Backbiter, before turning back and disappearing.

"So, now what?"

"Now, you make my son's pit your home until you get out."

"When will that be?"

"That I cannot tell you. But it will not be very soon."

"I expected as much. But I _will_ get out, right?"

"Yes, you will."

"Alright then. Now, what can I do as a Titan? Can I, like, summon random stuff like the gods can and flash around and all that?

"You can do all that yes, but you can't summon anything big. Usually you wouldn't be able to summon anything but as my agent you can. Also, your 'flashing around' shouldn't work at all but of the same reasons is limited to only inside the pit until you get out."

„Huh, that's pretty cool."

„Indeed it is. Right now, you might want to try that out by summoning yourself a mirror."

„Um, okay." Percy thought about a full body mirror appearing in front of him and sure enough, one did.

He looked at himself and saw that he still had some scars. All his old ones and the ones he had recently received were gone except for the one from Kronos's scythe and Hyperion's handprint on his right side. He twisted his body and saw that the five cuts on his left shoulder blade and all the other slashes Hyperion had made were gone.

He was even more muscular and taller than he used to be, probably reaching a height of around 6'3. Continuing upwards, he noticed the scar he had running from his jaw almost the whole way to his chin. But he almost smashed the mirror in shock when he looked himself in the eyes.

His once vibrant sea green eyes were now a solid gold color, even brighter than Kronos's. If that didn't come as a shock to him then the fact that his sclera were completely pitch black did.

"What the Hades?!" He exclaimed. "What happened to my eyes?!"

"The black color is from my blessing and the gold color is from taking over Kronos's domain."

"Wow, this is going to take some getting used to." He said, shaking his head. "Also, why do I still have some of my scars? I thought my mortal body burned away or whatever."

"It did, but as Kronos's scythe is now yours, your body kept the scars from it. They are a connection to the weapons. The same applies to Hyperion's – now your – powers."Percy nodded in understanding. He then walked to a pile of cloth by the entrance. Upon closer inspection it was the t-shirt and jacket he wore when he fell. He examined them but they were in perfect condition.

"This is awesome. Thanks Aphrodite." He said as he put on his jacket. As he looked around the cave for his naginata he couldn't see it anywhere.

When he started to panic, he thrust his hand into his pocket, hoping that it was like Riptide. His hand found the pen and Percy breathed a sigh of relief. It was like Riptide after all.

"Hey Chaos?"

"Yes, Perseus?"

"You're, like, all-knowing, right."

"Nigh omniscient, yes."

"What does that mean?"

"Almost all-knowing. I know most things but there are some that are veiled, even to me. I have also decided to keep your thoughts from my mind or conversing with you would be useless."

"Okay, I think. So you know all the fighting techniques in the world, right?"

"I do."

"Do you think that you could, maybe, like, teach me? I mean, I'm not too good with the naginata or staff or even the scythe and I've never really trained with knives and I don't know how to use most of my powers and I really need help and I don't even know what I'm saying right now."

"Interesting idea, Perseus. We shall see. For now, I suggest you make yourself comfortable in Tartarus." Then Chaos disappeared into thin air.

"Great." Percy muttered. He was definitely not tired so he decided to go and find the place he thought about living in. He supposed it might have something to do with him being a Titan and not needing sleep as much. Would he ever need to sleep? Like really _need_ to sleep or he would die? There was so much he didn't know or even understand about his new 'condition'.

Percy sighed and looked away from the mirror he had summoned, actually looking around the pit. He was, to say the least, shocked by what he saw. It was Tartarus like he had seen it when he was dying last time when he was there. Then he understood it. Finally he understood something.

The mist affected demigods to some extent but now he could see completely through it, even better than a clear-sighted mortal.

Then there was what he felt. He could sense so many monsters all over the pit and even the pit himself. Oh, how good this could be when he, like at that point, needed to vent some anger and frustration.

This, like so much else, was going to take some getting used to. Percy took a deep breath before he set off walking around in the actual personification of hell.

 **X**

The Olympians gathered together for a council meeting the day after Percy had been sentenced to Tartarus. Those of them who voted for Percy's innocence only spoke among themselves, pointedly ignoring any attempt at conversation from the other gods.

"Anyone have any news relevant to the council?" Zeus asked, giving up on conversing with the other gods. Surprisingly, Demeter spoke up.

"I do." She said. "There have been some stirrings in my domain of harvest. I don't know exactly what it is but it seems to be a shift in power of some sort."

"Do you know where it originated from?" Athena asked. Demeter shook her head.

"It seemed to be powerful, but too far away to discern well enough." She said.

"Do you think it could mean trouble for Olympus." Zeus asked, paranoid as usual.

"It is impossible to say at the moment." Demeter told him. The Olympians, well, those who were listening, frowned in thought. What could this mean?

 **X**

Percy didn't know how long he walked but after some time, he finally ran into some monsters. A half-dozen cyclopes were walking around with their clubs rested on their shoulders. Percy hid behind a rock and waited.

"I'm telling you, the big smell is getting closer," a female cyclops said, only a few feet away from Percy.

"Yes, we're getting closer, I know that," another cyclops, this time male, said with a huff.

"That's not what I mean," the first one said irritably. "I mean that it's getting closer to us, not us closer to it." There was a silence for a few seconds as the sound of footsteps ceased. They were probably just standing around and scratching their heads like idiots, Percy mused.

"I don't understand," said a third cyclops, his voice much deeper than the other two's.

"Gentlemen, oh, and lady, of course," he greeted as he stepped in front of the cyclopes. The cyclopes' eyes widened and their faces gained lecherous grins.

"Son of the sea god," the female one grunted.

"There was a rumor going around that you were down here," another said.

"So you talk about me? I'm flattered." Percy said, dramatically putting a hand to his chest.

"We will capture you and bring you to Lord Kronos. We will be rewarded well." A third cyclops said. Percy couldn't help the snort that escaped him.

"Lord Kronos? I hate to break it to you but Lord Kronos is _kaput_." Percy told them.

"You lie, demigod," the girl cyclops growled.

"I thought you monsters were supposed to have a good sense of smell. I'm not a demigod, cyclops. I'm a Titan." Percy gained a feral grin as he held his hand out and Kronos's – no, Percy's – scythe materialized.

The cyclopes' eyes widened comically. "Now, let's dance, ladies." Percy said as the scythe morphed into Backbiter.

Percy brandished his sword and jumped at them. One cyclops lost a head and another one got a hole through his chest before the rest realized what was happening. They pulled out their clubs and backed up fearfully.

"Come on. Surely big boys and girl like yourselves aren't scared of little old me." The cyclopes blanched at the insult but they restrained themselves. "Hmm. Not as stupid as I thought. Well, doesn't matter, I'll still kill you."

Then Percy darted forward. As he ran, his golden eyes flashed and time seemed to slow down, the cyclopes moving like in hilariously slow motion. Percy stabbed one, then decapitated the one standing by his side. He turned around to face the other two and made quick work of them.

When the cyclopes were all dead, time resumed and they exploded into golden dust. Percy suddenly became dizzy and had to steady himself by putting a hand on the rock he had hidden behind earlier.

The wave of dizziness didn't pass until after nearly twenty minutes and Percy stood up and let Backbiter disappear. "So, that's what happens if I use my time powers without practice, not that I meant to do it," he said to himself. "Just hope Chaos agrees to my request. I really need help with this."

Percy spent the next few days – or what felt like days, it was impossible to really tell but he trusted his Titan of time instincts – walking around Tartarus, killing monsters and spreading his reputation. He wanted monsters to be afraid and to think twice before challenging him. He also needed to train in case Chaos wouldn't help him.

He found Hestia's blessing awesome. Whenever he was hungry, he could just make some food. Sadly, he couldn't summon nectar or ambrosia but pouring water over himself worked just fine, too.

After a very long time of walking around, Percy finally found the place he had been looking for. A swamp stretched for a while and a large hut stood in the middle of it. Percy smiled and took off in the direction of the hut.

When he got to it, he opened the door and was extremely disheartened when he saw the lack of people in there.

"Looks like they didn't make it after all." Percy said to himself as tears formed in his eyes. He closed the door and walked in as a tear streaked down his cheek.

He was rather tired so he just laid on the bed he had slept on when Damasen healed him from the gorgon's blood and cried himself to sleep, letting out every emotion he couldn't get rid of by killing things.

Some time later Percy woke up and jumped to his feet when he sensed a powerful presence inside the hut. It didn't walk in and open the door or anything, it just appeared, which shouldn't be possible as he was the only one who could teleport inside Tartarus.

His scythe appeared in his hand but he faltered when he saw who was in front of him. It was Chaos.

"So, you've come to train me?"

"I have. Get up." He said.

"Alright, I'm up." Percy told him. "When do we start?"

"Now." Chaos snapped his fingers and they were transported to a big empty field. The air was lovely as always but Percy had no difficulty breathing thanks to Chaos's blessing.

Before he could think more about the environment in Tartarus, Chaos grabbed a staff from nowhere and attacked him. Percy drew his own staff and defended himself but Chaos was relentless.

He was much faster and stronger than Percy and kept him on the defensive, though Percy felt like he wasn't even trying.

"Come on, Perseus." He said. "You can surely do better than this."

"Easy for you to say, I haven't got any experience with this."

"Excuses won't get you anywhere in life, Perseus." Then, lightning fast, Chaos hit him in either hand, making him drop the weapon and then in the head with his staff. "Again."

Percy scowled as he rubbed his head but held out his hand and his staff flew back into it. Then he charged at the creator of the universe.

They went on like that for a while, Chaos calling out instructions occasionally and Percy following them the best he could to become as good as possible.

He also felt the immense difference in his stamina after he became a Titan. His endurance used to be amazing for a mortal but after becoming immortal, he could fight Chaos for hours without a break. Though, to be fair, Chaos wasn't even close to trying his hardest but that was just a minor detail.

After a couple of days of rigorous training and minimal rest, Percy was ready to drop from exhaustion. Chaos regarded him with his regular apathy as he informed Percy that he should sleep and snapped his fingers to transport them both to Damasen's hut.

Percy laid down and fell asleep instantly. Chaos hummed. Perseus Jackson really did seem to be the one who could decide the fate of the universe. It would take time – a long time – but the creator allowed himself a little optimism that his world would get to grow like it was supposed to, without the Primordials' interfecence.

Percy woke up with a groan. Everywhere hurt and he was extremely sore, Chaos sure knew how to push a guy. Percy's head shot up.

„Chaos?" He called out but got no reply from the empty hut. Sighing, he got up and stretched, wincing at the popping sounds his joints made.

Percy shot a small burst of fire into the fireplace, igniting it and warming the place up. Then he sat down on a small chair – small in comparison to the ones created for the original owner of the hut, that is – and clapped his hands, bringing forth a large pizza to the table.

He grabbed a few slices of pizza and threw into the fire. „For Poseidon, Artemis, Apollo, Hades, Hestia, Hermes and Aphrodite." He murmured, one slice for each god. He'd just summon more pizza anyway.

As soon as he finished the last bite of pizza, he sensed a being of immense power appear in his cave. He tensed up but relaxed as he realized that it was Chaos. "Good morning, Chaos." He said as he stood up and turned around to face the creator, only to find Chaos looking at him with a slightly contemplative expression.

"What?" Percy asked. Chaos remained silent before voicing his thoughts.

"I was only wondering what you planned on doing when you left the pit." Chaos stated.

"I actually thought about that a lot when I was going around and killing monsters and I've come to realize that I needed to focus my anger. It's not going anywhere and it's only fair that I direct it at the ones I hate." Percy told the creator.

"Like the Olympians?"

"Exactly."

"What about the campers?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"For one, if they're still alive when I get out of here. You said it wasn't going to be anytime soon."

"Time is different in Tartarus."

"What do you mean different?"

"It obeys no rules. It is erratic. A thousand years here could be ten seconds up there or it could be ten thousand years. It makes no sense." Chaos informed Percy who looked thoughtful.

"So I could be out only a month after I was sent down up there but maybe a few centuries down here?" He asked. Chaos nodded the affirmative. "Oh, wow, uh, in that case, I don't know if I'm going to get revenge on the campers. If they're alive I'll maybe humiliate one or two, beat them up a little perhaps, but nothing more than that I think." Chaos almost sighed.

"I suppose that's more than justified. Well, onto training." He said. Percy smiled, this might not be so bad after all.

 **A/N: And that's it. Chapter six all done. Percy starts training with Chaos and the Olympians suspect something is up but have no idea what. More in the next chapter.**

 **Happy new year, everybody! 2015 was a good one but I'm thinking that 2016 will be even better. The first day of the year is a Friday and I'm pretty sure that's the only piece of evidence I need. Also, comic book movies galore! I'm so excited for all the (hopefully) amazing movies coming out this year!**

 **Review and tell me what you think. Follow, favorite, whichever, or both. Thanks.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	7. An Unexpected Visit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Seven – An Unexpected Visit**

 **One Year/One Hundred and Ten Years Later**

Camp Half-Blood was a place of happiness. Where demigods could be themselves without the threat of being mauled by a monster or two. Where they could meet their siblings and meet new friends.

But it was also a place of melancholy. While the younger campers ran around playing and having fun, the older ones, especially the ones who had survived both wars, sulked and brooded or spent their days in the training arena, destroying some straw dummies.

They blamed themselves for the fate of their hero. Percy Jackson had never been anything but humble, loyal, self-sacrificing, and kind, and what did they do? They threw him away when the war was over and didn't look back until it was too late.

When Percy had ruined a part of the camp just over a year before, the campers had been angry. Then they had heard why he lost control and gotten angry at Annabeth and the two boys she had slept with.

Although, there was no one even close to being as angry as Clarisse and Nico when they heard that Annabeth Chase was a bitch who had fucked their respective boyfriends.

After the two had finished with their exes and the whore, they realized that inflicting pain didn't bring any relief to their own hurt. They mostly stayed together after that, becoming good friends and – as was speculated in the camp – maybe something more and offering a shoulder to cry on. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Neither of them let themselves cry. Ever.

A month after that happened, a depressed looking Hermes had come to tell them that Percy had been sentenced to Tartarus. Since then, the older campers had been in a worse mood.

Camp Jupiter was a similar place to Camp Half-Blood but different in the regard that instead of being a safe haven for Greek demigods, Camp Jupiter was for Roman demigods. Of course that wasn't entirely true, after the Giant War, the rules had been bent a little and there were some Roman demigods staying at the Greek camp and vice versa.

While the Greek camp was pretty sad, the Roman camp was mostly angry. Percy Jackson had been a praetor of the twelfth legion and they were not happy with how he had been treated. The five of the seven that didn't stay at Camp Half-Blood had cut off all ties with Annabeth after hearing about how she cheated on Percy with two different guys.

When they heard of Percy being sent to Tartarus, well, they were angry to say the least. Jason created a storm that could've destroyed a large part of San Francisco if he hadn't managed to calm down, Leo almost started a huge forest fire, cursed gems popped up all around Hazel for a long time and Frank was stuck as a dragon for six hours.

The gods weren't much better. The hearth was at a record low as the ones who were on Percy's side fought with the others over the smallest things. Well, except Hestia, she was mostly just sad.

Then, one day, the Olympians got a visitor.

It was a fairly normal council meeting, Poseidon and Hades teaming up in an argument against Zeus, Apollo and Hermes messing with Ares and Dionysus, and Artemis and Aphrodite setting aside their differences to antagonize Hera and Demeter. Hephaestus was left alone with his machines.

Suddenly the room got hotter and brighter until the gods had to squeeze their eyes shut and hold their hands in front of their faces.

"Apollo, stop this!" Zeus demanded.

"This isn't me!" Apollo yelled back.

 **No, this is me.** Said a male voice seemingly coming from every direction.

"How dare you interrupt the Olympian council?" Zeus bellowed.

 **Very easily. You are nothing but sad excuses for immortals. Well, most of you anyway. Some of you seem to be worth something since they couldn't be manipulated by my father and I. But no matter, we will destroy you all in due time.**

"Who are you?" Athena asked.

 **I am Aether, primordial of light and the upper air, and I, along with my father, will be ruling your worthless world soon enough.**

"You and Erebus?" Athena asked. As she said that name, the insanely bright light surrounding them seemed to dim a little.

 **Yes, indeed, wisdom goddess.**

"What did you mean that you and your father manipulated some of us?" Hestia asked.

 **Ah, caught that one did you? Smart girl. Well, my father and I went inside the heads of you and your children. We planted some seeds of doubt inside your pathetic minds.**

"Doubt about what?" Poseidon asked.

 **Your hero, of course. Your savior in your previous wars, Perseus Jackson. How pleasant it was watching his friends abandon him one by one. They sabotaged each other and all blamed Jackson. Then you threw him into Tartarus, oh, that was even better than I could have imagined.**

"So, you made us do it?" Demeter asked.

 **Oh, no, no, no. We didn't** _ **make**_ **you do anything. We simply found feelings and ideas you already had in your mind. We didn't even have to force it, you simply intensified those feelings and acted on them yourselves. You know what the best part is? The daughter of Athena was the biggest influence on Jackson's soul and she had been cheating on him even before we came into matters.**

"Why didn't it affect all of us?" Artemis asked. For the first time, Aether seemed to falter a little.

 **I am . . . not sure. Perhaps it was because your minds are stronger than those of the other Olympians. Perhaps it was because you possessed too many positive emotions regarding that** _ **hero**_ **that they overwhelmed the negative ones.**

"Are you saying that I am weak?!" Zeus demanded.

 **Yes. Wasn't it obvious?** Zeus probably would have said something stupid but his wife freed one arm from covering her eyes to cover her husband's mouth long enough for him to get the message to shut up.

"Why tell us this?" Hestia asked.

 **Because you are nothing compared to two Primordials and I want you to know it. Neither my father nor I have fully awoken yet but here I am, with the Olympian council cowering at my mere presence. Just imagine what my father and I could do together.**

Suddenly the light dimmed and Aether left the throne room. The Olympians took as few minutes to let their eyes adjust but when they did, chaos ensued. Almost every Olympian was yelling at each other about who was to blame for various things and what they should do.

"QUIET!" Every Olympian quieted down at Hestia's outburst. She was in her eighteen year old form and her usually calm eyes were raging fires. She was angry. "What will we gain from this?" No one could answer her.

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Zeus asked condescendingly.

"Isn't it obvious, brother?" She asked. When he didn't answer she continued. "We free Percy Jackson."

The reaction was instantaneous.

"WHAT?! NO!" Zeus bellowed. "He was justly sentenced to Tartarus!"

"Are you serious?" Hades asked incredulously. "You heard him. You were all manipulated and he's our only chance of winning this war."

"He may not have been telling the truth." Athena insisted.

"Oh, please. You just don't want to admit that you were wrong." Poseidon said.

"I was not wrong. Jackson deserved all he got."

"How can you even think that? What did he ever do to deserve Tartarus?"

"You know well what he did."

"No, I don't. Care to enlighten me oh, wisdom goddess? Was it perhaps when he went and retrieved Zeus's master bolt and Hades's helm when he was twelve years old?"

Silence.

"Or maybe it was when he journeyed to the Sea of Monsters at age thirteen and got the golden fleece, only to give Ares's daughter the credit for it?"

Even more silence.

"It may have been when he was fourteen and went to Mount Othrys and fought Atlas himself for a few minutes before holding the sky on his shoulders, all to save _your_ daughter's life?"

Athena was starting to feel very small as the enraged sea god's glowing green eyes glared at her with an intensity unmatched by anyone.

"Perhaps he did something of the like when he was fifteen and traversed the labyrinth, blew up Mount Saint Helens in a quest from Hephaestus and landed on the paradise island of Ogygia where he was offered an eternity of peace with Calypso but decided to return to the war and led the camp in its defense against Kronos's army?"

Athena still kept silent.

"Maybe it was when he bathed in the river Styx to have the best chance at protecting Olympus, blew up a ship full of Kronos's henchmen, led his fellow demigods in defense of Olympus while we battled Typhon, where he defeated Hyperion in one-on-one battle, killed the Clazmonian Sow for the first time in history and made the damn choice to save Olympus in his fight against Kronos when he was sixteen?"

Athena shook her head.

"How about when he lost all of his memories and went on a quest to free Thanatos, retrieved the lost eagle standard of Rome and, again, led his camp in battle, this time the Roman one, where he slew the Giant Polybotes with only a statue god at his aid and was then raised to praetor on the legion's shields, within a week of being there?"

Another shake of Athena's head.

"Then it might have been when he saved the life of Nico di Angelo and helped defeat the Giants Ephialtes and Otis before falling into Tartarus simply because your daughter was going there?"

"No." She finally whispered.

"Or maybe when he, along with your daughter, became the first demigod to ever make it through Tartarus on their own as they closed the doors of death from the inside?"

"No."

"Then it must have been when he fought alongside us all as we defeated the Giants and then with the rest of the demigods against the earth mother and her monster forces?"

Athena swallowed. „No."

"Then I can't see what he did to deserve Tartarus. All he has ever done has been for the good of others. He turned down godhood. _Twice._ So he could wish for us to make Olympus better, and to stay with _your_ daughter. The girl he fell into Tartarus for, only for her to stab him in the back the moment he turned around by cheating on him."

"I-I . . ." Athena started.

"Say it, Pallas Athena." Poseidon growled. "Admit that you were wrong. SAY IT!" Athena and the most of the gods on the council flinched as the enraged sea god screamed and the room started shaking.

"I'm s-sorry." Athena said quietly. "I-I was w-wrong." Poseidon sneered at her while the other gods looked at him warily. The throne room was silent for a few seconds until Apollo spoke with the same seriousness he had for the past year.

"Now that our wisdom goddess has admitted her mistakes, I don't think there's anything standing in the way of the return of our hero."

 **X**

Percy was sitting around in his hut, drawing in his sketchbook, a hobby he had picked up one day when the ADHD demigod needed something to do – other than hurt and kill, that is – when he felt like he was being drawn out of the pit.

He realized immediately what was going on and grinned. It was time for some fun. But he wasn't going to be pulled out like a ragdoll, no. He was coming up the same way he went down; on his own terms. He focused on the pull that was slowly becoming stronger as he started floating off the ground, and flashed away.

 **X**

The Olympians had found a way to bring Percy out of Tartarus and had been performing the ritual for about ten minutes when the magic abruptly stopped.

"What happened?" Poseidon demanded.

"It must not have worked." Athena muttered as she thought over the possibilities of why they might have failed. She was brought out of her internal musings when a low chuckle was heard from a shadow behind a support beam.

"No, no, Athena. It actually worked very well." Said a man's voice from the shadow.

"Who are you?" Zeus asked as he pulled out his master bolt.

"Forgotten me already, have you, Zeus? I'm insulted." The man said. He walked out of the shadow and the gods gasped.

In the middle of the Olympians' throne room stood Percy Jackson. But this wasn't the Percy Jackson they remembered. This man was around 6'3 and had jet black, shoulder-length hair. He was muscular but not so much that it'd affect his speed in a fight.

He was wearing a sea green t-shirt with a black jacket over it. He had on black cargo pants and dark blue converse shoes. The same clothes he had worn a year before, the day he had been sentenced to Tartarus.

His face was a little gaunter than it had been but nothing too noticeable. The tan he had had before was somehow as perfect as it always had been. He had a few inches long scar on his face, running down from his left jaw to about an inch from his chin. But there was one thing about this Percy Jackson that differentiated him completely from the old one.

His eyes were gold.

The irises were a solid gold color, even brighter than the one the Titan king had sported, with a slightly darker gold at the edges of the iris. His sclera were pitch black. And while his face remained apathetic, those eyes were blazing with fury.

"Percy." Poseidon said quietly. Percy turned his head to him and his eyes softened immediately as he nodded.

"Hey, dad." He said. A huge smile spread out on the sea god's face as he hurried to shrink to his human height and run to his son. That action was mirrored by everyone who had voted for him.

Poseidon was about to hug his son but was beaten to it by his oldest sister. Hestia flung her arms around Percy's neck and squeezed hard. Percy wasted no time in wrapping his own arms tightly around Hestia's waist.

"I've missed you." He told her as they pulled back from the hug.

"I missed you too." Hestia said. Percy was then pulled into a hug by each of the gods, even Artemis and Hades.

"It's so good to see you guys." Percy said.

"It's good to see you too, bro." Apollo said. „But what's with the eyes?"

"I'll tell you in a bit, I have a feeling that the _king_ wishes to speak to me." Percy said. The sun god pouted slightly but nodded and went back to his throne along with all the other gods.

When they had all returned to their places, Percy looked up to the council and put a hand to his chin in a mock thinking pose.

"Well, this isn't fair." He stated.

"What do you mean?" Zeus asked with narrowed eyes.

"You guys are all, like, fifteen feet tall and I'm not even half that." Percy said, gesturing at the gods.

"Are you suggesting that we make ourselves smaller?" Zeus asked, seething.

"Nah," Percy said. "I'll just make myself bigger." And with that he grew to a fifteen feet height like the gods. Their eyes almost popped out of their sockets and then again when he snapped his fingers and a leather chair appeared which he sat down in.

"What are you doing, demigod?" Zeus asked. Percy just snorted.

"Couldn't you sense it, old man? I'm not a demigod anymore." He said.

"Well? What are you then?" Zeus demanded, red-faced with anger. Percy smirked maliciously, not a look commonly seen on him before the pit, and stood up. He flared his aura, making the Olympians gasp and shift in their seats. He radiated complete superiority, chaos and raw _power._ More than any single Olympian or Titan even.

"I am Perseus Jackson," he started, pausing slightly for dramatic effect. "Agent of Chaos and the Titan of time, harvest and destruction."

 **A/N: Chapter eight done. The demigods are sad and mad (or sad mad as Oh would put it) and the Olympians meet Aether and Percy comes home. Lovely, isn't it?**

 **So, I'm sorry but this is my last chapter in a bit. I know, kind of cliffhanger-ish and then a break right after but I just wanted to give you something. School just started and after I failed math last semester I promised my parents and myself that I'd focus more on school this time around. Ever since I posted this story I've been posting a new chapter each week and now I'm changing that. If I've been gone longer than a month, you're free to start letting complaints rain over me but until then please let me focus on other things. Thank you.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	8. A Warm Welcome

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Eight – A Warm Welcome**

Silence. Absolute silence. No one knew what to do or say after Percy's unexpected – to say the least – announcement. The first one to break out of his daze was the king of the gods. He grabbed his master bolt and flung it at Percy without a second's hesitation.

Most of the other gods yelled out and tried to intercept the attack but to no avail. They watched in horror as the bolt sailed at Percy Jackson who, much to their confusion, was still smirking.

Just before the master bolt reached its intended target, Percy snapped his fingers and it slowed down immensely, looking like it was moving through syrup, much to the shock of the gods.

"Come on, Zeus." Percy said shaking his head. „I'm the Titan of time. I can stop this without any problem." Then he grabbed the master bolt as it sailed slowly towards him and twirled it in his hand before he threw it over his shoulder and sat back down, not sparing it a second glance.

"We must kill him!" Zeus bellowed. „He is a Titan!"

"You will not touch my son!" Poseidon said with his trident leveled at his brother's throat.

"He is obviously a traitor! The Titans in Tartarus must have rewarded him by making him a Titan himself!" Zeus argued.

"I hardly think that the Titans would give him their own domains." Hestia, always the voice of reason, said.

"How are you a Titan?" Athena asked Percy. He looked at her with a distasteful expression.

"Why do you think I would tell you?" he asked. Athena was about to retort but was interrupted by her half-sister.

"Percy?" Artemis asked. Percy turned to her.

"Yes, Artemis?" he asked.

"Can you tell us how you became a Titan?" she inquired. "I'm sure we would all like to know." He sighed.

"Fine." he conceded. „I became a Titan when I forced Kronos to fade and took his domains as my own." Again, the gods were shocked silent.

"You can't force an immortal to fade." Ares insisted. Percy snorted.

" _You_ can't force an immortal to fade." he corrected. "Then again, there's a lot you can't do." Ares's face reddened in anger and he stood up from his throne as a large broadsword appeared in his hand.

"You want to know what I can do, punk?" he growled, stepping closer to Percy.

Poseidon was about to threaten Ares but was silenced as Percy stood up and raised his hand as he gained an anticipatory grin.

"Come on, war god. Please, show me what you can do." he said.

"Choose your weapon." Ares said.

"Against you? I don't think I'll need one just yet." Percy told him, smirking. Ares's red face became even redder and he charged with his sword ready.

Ares slashed at Percy but he missed as the Titan ducked under the blade before thrusting out his right arm, pushing the sword and the god holding it away. Ares growled and charged again, his visage seeming more and more like that of an angry bull.

Percy twisted his body to avoid a stab and then somersaulted over Ares's fast slash onto a large column where he landed with his feet on the marble and flipped back over the angry god again, completely dodging the sudden erratic hacking movements.

"Fight me, you coward!" Ares screamed.

"You want me to fight you?" Percy asked, whereupon he received an angry nod – don't ask how but Ares actually pulled off an angry nod somehow. „Fine." he held out his right hand and his hammer materialized. Percy pushed Ares's blade away with his bare hand as the war god attacked again and smashed his hammer into said war god, causing him to shoot into his throne where he slumped down, unconscious.

„Well," Percy began, as nonchalant as possible. „That was disappointing."

„What's that?" Hermes asked wide-eyed, pointing at Percy's weapon.

„A hammer," Percy said, holding it up.

"I can see that," Hermes deadpanned. "But that's not what I meant and you know it." Percy gave a small smile.

"Fine. This is the hammer I got when Perses faded. I like to call it Perditio," Percy informed the god of messengers.

"Destruction." Athena said automatically.

"Exactly," Percy told her. „You seem to know your Latin pretty well for someone who claims to hate Rome and everything connected to it." Percy sat down again and let his hammer disappear as the wisdom goddess seethed in her throne.

"Erm, right." Apollo said before his proud half-sister could blow a gasket. „How exactly do you make immortals fade?"

"Ah, that's easy. Just hit'em with a fatal blow and think about it. Maybe channel my energy a bit into them. Depends, really." Percy told him.

"That's all there is to it?" Artemis asked, surprised.

"For me, yes." Percy answered.

"What do you mean, for you?" Zeus asked with narrowed eyes.

"What I mean, is that it's simple for me to make an immortal fade but impossible for anyone else." Percy said slowly, as if explaining to a child, making some of the gods snicker.

"Why can you do it?" Athena asked.

"I guess I'm just special." Percy said, smirking.

"You will tell us!" Zeus bellowed. Percy's eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh, why?" he asked.

"I am the king of the gods and I demand you answer!"

"Yeah, sure, that's great and everything, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"What would that be?"

"I'm not a god." By that point Zeus's eyes were narrowed so much it was impossible to see if his eyes were actually open and his face so red that calling him a tomato would be an understatement.

"Percy." Hestia warned. Percy sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine." he said, straightening up and looking at the gods proudly. "It's because I am an agent of Chaos."

"What do you mean?" Poseidon asked.

"Exactly what I said. I am an agent of Chaos." Percy said again.

"When you say Chaos, you don't mean . . .?" Hestia trailed off.

"The creator of the universe Chaos?" Percy asked. Hestia nodded. "That's exactly what I mean."

"What?" Athena gasped. „You've met the creator himself?"

"Yes, I have." Percy informed her. "I first met him when I was falling down to Tartarus where he made me his agent and gave me the ability to take power from any immortal I kill or to make an immortal fade and take their domains."

"Why?" Athena asked.

"Because, like I told you before I went down to Tartarus, I am needed in the coming war." he said, just barely omitting the 'duh'.

"How will you fight?" Hermes suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Percy questioned the messenger god.

"Well, you are a Titan, right? And Titans have to follow the ancient laws, too. Unless you're just going to help with the immortal enemies." Hermes specified. Percy grinned.

"As the agent of Chaos, I am granted immunity from the ancient laws." he told his friend.

"Really?" Hermes asked, eyes wide. Percy nodded. "Man, you are so lucky." Percy chuckled.

"That's debatable." he said.

"So, Titan." Zeus said, making Percy roll his eyes. "Will you swear you allegiance to Olympus?"

"Right, yeah, no, that's not going to happen," Percy informed.

"What?" Zeus asked.

"No," Percy repeated.

"But you said you were needed in the war," Athena stated. Percy nodded.

"I did say that. But I never said I'd help Olympus. In fact, I remember telling you that I wouldn't help Olympus ever again," he said.

"Then you are an enemy of Olympus!" Zeus screamed in his usual pompous and overly dramatic manner. Percy sighed again and waved his hand. Vines sprouted from the ground all around Zeus's throne and weaved all around him, making him look like a grassy mummy.

"That's better," Percy said. The gods stared open-mouthed at Percy.

"How did you do that?" Artemis asked.

"Weren't you listening when I made my epic announcement? I'm the Titan of harvest," he told the moon goddess.

"So that's what I felt," Demeter muttered, to herself mostly.

"Who did you get that from?" Hermes asked.

"Kronos," Percy answered.

"Wait," Aphrodite said. "Kronos was the Titan of harvest?"

"Surprised me too," Percy said. "Though that does explain why he always had that scythe." To demonstrate, Percy held out his hand and his scythe materialized.

"Whoa. Is-is that . . .?" Apollo trailed off.

"Kronos's scythe? Yes it is," Percy said. "Well, actually it's my scythe."

"That is severely cool," Hermes commented. Percy grinned at the god of thieves.

"What do you call it?" Aphrodite asked.

"Well, when Luke had it as a sword, he called it Backbiter, but I don't like that one so I became creative and decided to name it Tempus," Percy told her.

"Time? Really?" Artemis asked. Percy shrugged.

"You can't say it isn't fitting," he said. The gods just sighed in exasperation.

"Do you have any more weapons?" Hephaestus asked, looking very interested in the matter.

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't," Percy said. "I don't think that I'll be telling you about it, though." The forge god had the decency to look ashamed as the young Titan glared at him.

"I, uh," Hephaestus started. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I apologize for my voting against you in the Tartarus matter." Percy stared at the god for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"You'll do anything to get your way, won't you?" Percy muttered so that no one heard him. Then he looked back up at Hephaestus. "If you want to see my weapons, you'll have to wait until I get in a fight. That is unless you guys want to try and sentence me to Tartarus again.

"Don't worry Percy, you're not going anywhere," Hestia said.

"Thanks," Percy said to her with a small smile. Hestia smiled back warmly. Then he looked to the council. "Do you actually want something with me or am I free to go?" Some muffled yelling reached their ears, getting louder and louder until the vines surrounding the king of the Gods exploded outwards.

"Absolutely not!" Zeus yelled. "I will have you sent to Tartarus again!"

"No you will not, Zeus," Poseidon said. "I will not let you."

"You will not let me?!" Zeus demanded. "I am king!"

"I don't care," Poseidon said. "A year in Tartarus is more than enough for him." Percy's eyebrows rose. He was only down there for a year? Wow. Chaos had explained the time difference thing but still.

"Hey, Percy," Hestia called. "What's wrong?" Percy shook his head slightly.

"It's nothing," he said. "I just didn't know I was only gone for a year up here."

"What do you mean 'up here'?" Athena asked.

"Well, time is different in Tartarus. It obeys no laws and the time I spent there could have just as easily been three months as it could have been a few thousand years." Percy told her.

"How-how long were you down there?" Artemis asked.

"I can't be completely sure, but with my domain of time I'm pretty sure it was one hundred and ten years," he said. The gods' eyes widened.

"A century?" Hades asked. „And you're okay?" Percy shrugged and moved his hand in a 'so-so' gesture.

"More or less," he said.

"How did you survive?" Apollo wondered.

"Became a Titan, found a relatively safe place to call home, trained a lot and built a rep as the scariest thing there since the Minotaur's morning breath," Percy told them.

"How did you find a safe place in Tartarus?" Poseidon asked his son.

"With his Titan allies, obviously!" Zeus said. Most of the gods on the council and Percy just sighed at the king's futile attempts at proving Percy a traitor.

"No, Zeus," Percy said. „I don't have any Titan allies. Not anymore anyway."

"What do you mean not anymore?" Hermes asked.

"I had a friend who was a Titan. His name used to be Iapetus and he was the Titan of mortality and the west. I pushed him into the river Lethe and he lost his memory. After that I told him that his name was Bob and that we were friends. In Tartarus, the first time, he knew that I said his name and he jumped down from the Underworld to help me. Even after he started getting his memory back, he sacrificed himself by fighting Tartarus himself so that Athena's daughter and I could get out of there," Percy said, purposefully avoiding saying Annabeth's name.

"He fought him alone?" Hades asked. Percy shook his head.

"No, he had Small Bob, who was his pet saber-toothed tiger, and the giant Damasen with him," He said.

"The giant Damasen?" Athena asked.

"Yeah, not many know who he was. He was the giant born to oppose Ares but that made him peaceful and he lived as a farmer until he killed the Maeonian drakon and his mother Gaia cursed him to live in Tartarus for all eternity, fighting the same drakon every day or every week, I don't remember completely. In Tartarus he had built himself a hut and grew plants and even had sheep. Sadly, I'm afraid that he, along with Bob and Small Bob, perished in the fight," Percy told them.

"But if your friends are dead, that doesn't explain how you found a safe place in Tartarus," Hera stated. Percy turned and glared at her for talking so callously about his friends' sacrifice.

"I lived in Damasen's hut, obviously," he said.

"Did they die or fade? If you don't mind me asking, that is," Hermes asked carefully. Percy sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm afraid they faded," he said.

"How do you know?" Hestia asked.

"When Tartarus created a body, he had a vortex-like thing instead of a face. The vortex sucked in everything that got too close," Percy explained. "He sucked in both Hyperion and Krios but he obviously let them go for some reason. I think that he must have sucked in my friends too and not let them go."

"Why do you think that?" Poseidon asked. Percy sighed and stood up, holding out his hand. In it a large silver broom materialized. Hades's eyes widened while the other Olympians stared uncomprehendingly at the object.

"This was Iapetus's weapon. There were a bunch of monsters trying to pick it up but they burned up when they touched it. I heard of it and decided to check it out but when I saw it I immediately recognized it. When I picked it up, however, it glowed silver and acknowledged me as its new master. That can only happen if the original master has faded," Percy informed them.

"How did he fight with a broom?" Dionysus asked, gathering his courage to speak up for the first time since Percy came back.

Percy turned to him and twirled the broom so the broom-end was turned to the ground. Suddenly a big and ridiculously sharp spearhead jutted out from the end of the broom, making the god of wine yelp in fear.

"Iapetus fought with a spear, Dionysus," Percy said coldly. Dionysus just nodded, trying to avoid being skewered with the spear. Percy twirled the spear in his hand and let it disappear before sitting back down. "Now, tell me what you want or let me go."

"You will go back to Tartarus where you belong!" Zeus bellowed.

Before anyone could say anything, the room disappeared from around them and they were suddenly floating in black nothingness. The gods all looked around startled, hardly believing what was happening. They were all still sitting but their thrones were not with them.

"What is this?" the king of the gods demanded of the newest Titan. "What have you done?!" Percy opened his mouth to respond but before he could a pale man dressed in a fancy black suit appeared out of nowhere. There was nothing fancy, however, about his entrance. No light, no sound, he just appeared.

The man, who Percy immediately identified as Chaos, stared with black eyes straight into the electric blue ones of Zeus.

The god of the sky suddenly arched his back, as if in pain, and screamed, a horrible sound that sent a chill down everyone's spine. Zeus then tumbled out of his not-visible-but-still-there seat and onto the just as invisible floor, still screaming. His body was rocked with spasms just as his screams turned to whimpers.

Their surroundings changed again and they were back in the Olympians' throne room where everyone sat in their normal seats and the one thing that helped the gods believe that this had all even happened was the king who lay on the ground deathly still, his wheezing and whimpering the only indication that he was even alive.

The whole thing had only taken about twenty seconds.

Percy sat there just as wide-eyed as the rest of the immortals, he had so not expected that. He shook off his shock and clapped his hands together, drawing the gods' attention. "So I can go now?"

"Yes. Leave," Hera spat at him, going to help her husband. Percy smirked as he stood up and let his chair disappear. He gave a mocking salute to the king of the gods laying on the ground before he shrunk down to his normal 6'3 and walked out of the throne room.

"Meeting dismissed," Poseidon said as he shrunk himself down and ran out of the throne room too, followed by all the gods who favored Percy.

"I . . . am king," Zeus rasped as he tried to rise from the floor. "You cannot decide . . . get back here!" No one actually listened to him and the rest of the gods quickly flashed out. When Poseidon and the other gods burst out of the throne room, they saw Percy leaning against a wall, looking at them with amusement.

"That was fun," he commented lightly. "And that guy was Chaos, by the way."

The gods stood still, looking at the golden-eyed demigod – no, not demigod, Titan – before them. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Percy asked, confused. That was enough to break the gods out of their stupor and they shook their heads.

"No, you don't," Hestia told him. "It's just been so long." Percy shrugged.

"Not as long as it has been for me," he said.

"Apparently not," Poseidon said somberly. They all remained silent after the reminder of Percy's wrongful punishment.

"Well," Percy said, clapping his hands together before the silence became awkward. "Anyone want to get a drink?"

 **A/N: And Percy's home! I know he didn't spend a lot of time in Tartarus (in the story, anyway. He was there for over a hundred years.) but the story is about his return from Tartarus and whatnot. Although I can, if you people want, make a few flashback chapters and see how he was doing down there. Y'know, how he got Perses's domain and other fun stuff like that.**

 **I said last time that it was the eighth chapter but that just wasn't true, it was the seventh and this is number eight. Sorry about that. Don't think it really troubled anyone but it annoyed me a lot when I noticed it.**

 **Not sure when I'll update next but this one was much sooner than I was expecting last time so I'm hoping it'll be relatively soon.**

 **Follow, favorite, review. Thank you all.**

' **Till next time**

 **-Manimal**


	9. Gone Clubbing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Nine – Gone Clubbing**

"What? You drink?" Artemis asked while Hermes, Apollo and Aphrodite looked beyond excited.

"Not really, I mean, I did jump into Tartarus before I turned twenty one so I'm long overdue on a 'getting super drunk with my friends' celebration party, being over a hundred and twenty one years old," Percy stated. Apollo and Hermes put their arms over each of Percy's shoulders and sighed dramatically.

"Bro, we're going to have so much fun," Apollo said. Hermes nodded in agreement.

"We'll teach you all the different ways to charm the ladies," the thief god said.

"With your looks, you'll be taking the hottest girl in the club, aside from me – unless you're feeling the need for a three way, which is always on the table – home with you tonight," the goddess of love affirmed.

The two maiden goddesses glared at Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite before turning to Poseidon and Hades who were starting to look quite excited as well, whereupon they glared at them too.

"Sorry guys, I'm not planning on having a one night stand with some poor mortal that then gets cursed with having my kid," Percy told them. The two gods and one goddess visibly deflated.

„But we still get to go to the club and get you wasted, right?" Hermes asked. Percy grinned.

"Oh yeah, definitely," he said. The gods perked up again at the promise of alcohol.

„Wait!" Aphrodite yelled before they could flash away. The gods and Percy all gave her questioning looks. "First of all, Hestia, you're like eighteen and Artemis, you're a little girl." The goddess of the moon's face reddened in anger as the goddess of the hearth just grew a few years older.

"I am not!" she insisted.

"Fine, you _look_ like a little girl," Aphrodite mended.

"And what's wrong with that?" Artemis asked, receiving an 'are you kidding me?' look from Aphrodite for, most likely, the first time in history.

"We're going to a club," the love goddess deadpanned. "Where they serve alcohol."

"A twelve year old girl can't go into a club, Artemis," Apollo told his sister, who glared at him.

"I will just use the mist," she stated, not backing down.

"Isn't that too much trouble for what could easily be fixed?" Hermes questioned impatiently.

"So now there's something _wrong_ with the way I look?" Artemis demanded.

"No, Artemis, you look fine," Percy started, starting his own damage control before things got way out of hand. "What he means is that it would be easier for you to modify your age instead of manipulating the mist, which is always a slight risk." Artemis glared at him, though not with the same intensity she reserved for the other gods.

"You're nineteen, Percy," she told him and Percy mentally slapped himself. Of course he only looked nineteen, he never saw a reason to change his age.

"Oh, right," he said. "I forgot about that." With that he closed his eyes and focused on changing his body. Within a few seconds, he had grown two years, looking like a twenty one year old. He turned to Artemis with one eyebrow raised expectantly. She glared at him for a few moments before sighing and growing to the same age as Percy.

"Happy?" she asked. Percy grinned.

"Very," he told her, giving a thumbs up. "Now, we can go." As they prepared to flash away, they were once again stopped by Aphrodite.

"Wait!" she yelled.

"What is it now?" Artemis shouted at her with obvious irritation.

„We can't go to a club dressed like this!"

„Are you serious?" Artemis asked in an annoyed voice. Aphrodite just snapped her fingers and their clothes all changed. Percy looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing a simple black button up shirt – a little too tight for his taste but nothing too bad – with the top two buttons unbuttoned, dark blue jeans and sneakers.

"And your hair, Percy," Aphrodite fussed, gesturing at his shoulder-length locks. "What to do with that?"

"What's wrong with my hair?" Percy asked defensively. Aphrodite looked at him as if to say 'everything'.

"Sweetie, it looks like you just came out of a war zone or something."

"Aph, give the guy a break," Hermes told her, looking tired at her antics.

"But, he can't look like that," the love goddess argued. "It could be so much better." Percy sighed.

"Fine, whatever," he conceded. "Do what you want. Go nuts." Aphrodite squealed and snapped her fingers once more. Percy's hair instantly shortened immensely, with the hair on top being longer than the hair in the sides. That was then styled to the side and slightly up and backwards. Or at least that's how Percy would have described it when he saw it in a mirror Aphrodite conjured up for him.

Percy looked at himself, new hair, new clothes, new place, new everything. It was a strange feeling, to say the least, after so many years of the same.

„Percy? You okay?" Hestia asked him when she noticed the strange look on his face. Percy visibly shook his head and looked at her with his bright gold eyes.

„Yeah, don't worry. It's just . . ." he trailed off.

„What?" Poseidon asked his son.

„I have literally been wearing the same clothes for over a hundred years, I just feel a little weird, that's all," Percy told him, shrugging. Aphrodite's face changed to one of absolute horror.

„You've been wearing the same clothes all this time?" she screeched.

„Well, yeah. It's not like I could walk into the Tartarus chapter of Target and ask for a change of clothes."

„No, I suppose not," Aphrodite said with a contemplative look. „That is a business idea though."

„A terrible one," Hermes said with a horrified look.

„Yeah, I suppose you're right. I don't see a market with the monsters down there," The love goddess decided.

„Everyone ready?" Percy asked, trying to distract Aphrodite from her idea. The gods all nodded their affirmation.

"What are we waiting for then?" Apollo asked. "Let's go!"

The seven gods and one Titan all flashed out of Mount Olympus and reappeared outside of a club in Manhattan.

„The Grapevine?" Percy questioned upon reading the glowing sign (thank you, Titan physiology for fixing dyslexia). Apollo and Hermes grinned.

„It's a place run by a son of Bacchus. His dad may be a huge ass but he's a nice enough kid." the sun god told Percy who nodded.

„Shall we?" Aphrodite asked Percy. He gave her a smile and gestured for her to go before him. They walked to the front of the line where Hermes snapped his fingers and convinced the doorman to let them in, much to the ire of the guys actually waiting in line, well, until Aphrodite flashed them a magical smile that left them with very little brain activity for a while.

The strange but extremely good-looking group made their way to a back room where a pudgy man, around twenty-four, noticed them and allowed them access to the room and showed them the bar.

"My lords and ladies," he said respectively in a southern drawl. "And . . . a guest?" The demigod inquired once he spotted Percy.

"This is Lord Per–" Apollo started, but was interrupted by Percy shoving him away.

"I'm Percy," He told the son of Bacchus, holding his hand out for a shake.

"I'm Jeremiah, son of Bacchus," the man told Percy as he shook his hand. The small man narrowed his eyes at Percy. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be the famous Percy J– ahh!" Jeremiah cut himself off with an exclamation of pain when Percy squeezed his hand all too tightly.

"Just. Percy," the young Titan told Jeremiah through gritted teeth.

"Of course, my lor– I mean Percy," Jeremiah stuttered. "Whatever you want is on the house, as always," he said, looking at the gods before hurrying away to take care of his hand.

Percy glared at the table until a warm hand found its way to his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. When he looked around, he saw that the hand belonged to Hestia who was looking at him with worried eyes.

"Percy, what was that?" she asked softly.

"That's what I wanna know, too," Hermes said, earning himself glares from every god present. "Sorry," he apologized in a small voice.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Percy sighed. Before the questioning could start again he jumped over the bar like the fine athlete he was, pulling out eight glasses and putting them on the bar. "Where's the god stuff?"

"Under there, in a locked cabinet," Hades told him, pointing to where it was. Percy pointed at the cabinet's lock and it exploded at his thought, startling his companions. He then pulled out two bottles of whiskey, labeled 'Dionysus/Bacchus level'. He raised them up and looked at his friends.

"Now, who wants a drink?"

"I do!" Hermes and Apollo yelled, holding out their glasses with idiotic smiles like a couple of five year olds. Hades rolled his eyes but picked up a couple of glasses and, after having Percy pour into them, handed one to his brother who took it gratefully.

"So, ladies," Percy said as he poured into the remaining four glasses. "Bottoms up." Then he lifted his glass and, after a quick 'cheers', downed the whiskey in a single sip, the alcohol leaving a nice burn in his throat.

"Dude, that's sipping whiskey," Apollo said, looking scandalized.

"What?" Percy asked, confused.

"You're supposed to drink it in sips, not down the whole thing," the sun god said, looking affronted. Percy poured himself another glass and drank a tiny sip of it, all the while looking Apollo in the eye.

Percy?" his father's voice broke Percy out of his staring contest with Apollo and he focused back on his surroundings. The gods were all staring at him, with varying levels of worry etched onto their faces.

"Yeah, dad?" Percy answered.

"Are you alright?" Poseidon asked, staring his son in the eye and hardly recognizing what he saw.

For some reason, that question really got to Percy. Was he okay? _Okay?_

He'd spent the _vast_ majority of his life in a freaking pit, for crying out loud! Finally, he was out but it wasn't . . . it just wasn't the same.

Everything was so clean and smelled so strangely, there were no fumes or gases in the air that distorted vision and clouded judgement, he had seen more people since he walked into the club than he had monsters in a week down in Tartarus and, yet, no one had tried to kill him.

He had been a Titan for over one hundred and ten years but a demigod for only nineteen. His body flowed with power that seemed to want to explode out of him, even worse than when he first acquired his extra powers, as soon as he left the pit, like Tartarus had been containing him somehow.

His head hurt and he was tired, just so _tired_. This world was something Percy hardly recognized and it pained him to realize that. He didn't know how to live on the surface of the earth.

For over one hundred and ten years, Percy had been fighting. Every single day. He tried to reach new heights in his talents and abilities, knowing he was needed in an upcoming war but he didn't even know when it would happen.

He fought for survival in the pit. Every single day. Whether it had been against the monsters of hell or his own demons.

He had suffered. Every. Single. Day. Gods, he had suffered. Ever since the first day, when Kronos had Hyperion torture him, Percy had been in pain.

When he overexerted himself while training his powers, Percy Jackson was in pain. When Chaos beat him up viciously while training his fighting skills, Percy Jackson was in pain. When he was overwhelmed and beaten and kicked and trampled and stabbed and clawed and bitten by monsters in the middle of Tartarus, miles and miles and miles below any kind of help, Percy Jackson was in pain.

When he thought about his friends, his family, and the life he could've had but was denied while he cried himself to sleep almost every night for over a century, Percy Jackson was in agonizing pain.

When he was finally called back from the pit, only to be met with hostile glares and faces filled with distrust and loathing from some of the very gods and goddesses he had previously been willing to sacrifice his life for, Percy Jackson realized how . . . meaningless it had all been.

He had fought more monsters and done more things in his life than anyone could even imagine. But what for? A few ungrateful gods and a shot at a life that had crumbled before he could even blink?

He survived Tartarus twice, only to be called back into the third war in his lifetime. Why did he even bother?

No, Percy Jackson was _not_ alright.

Faint sounds were heard over the rush of blood in his ear. Someone was calling out to someone else. Him, perhaps?

"–rcy, Percy, PERCY!"

In his hand, his glass exploded from the pressure he'd been slowly applying. Pieces of broken glass shot everywhere, making the gods lower their heads quickly and throw their hands up to protect themselves.

"Percy, wha–" Poseidon didn't get to finish as Percy just vanished, no theatrics, no nothing, just disappeared like a glitch in the Matrix, leaving the gods feeling flabbergasted.

 **X**

They had searched for a couple of hours but eventually the gods gave up on finding Percy that night. It was next to impossible to track him down so quickly when he hadn't flashed away like a normal immortal person but teleported away with one of his powers instead. If a powerful immortal was missing for more than two hours, you probably weren't going to find them for a while.

It didn't help ease Hestia's worries that Percy hadn't seemed to be in the right state of mind before he left. Of course, he had only just returned from hell but he'd seemed alright enough earlier. Whatever the case, she hoped that Percy would be safe.

She entered her temple two hours after leaving the club, getting on instant alert as she heard shuffling in her kitchen. Her hands lit up with fire, both so she could see and so she could defend herself if whoever was in her house had the intention of hurting her. Not by fighting, of course, but by distracting the person or putting a shield around herself.

As she slowly stepped into the kitchen Hestia exhaled a heavy breath of relief, her shoulders slumping while she put out her fiery hands. Percy sat on her kitchen floor, leaning on a wall and trying to chug from an empty whiskey bottle, with two similar bottles laying on the floor beside him. Hestia rushed to kneel by his side, trying to get his attention.

"Percy? Hey, Percy," She tried.

"Huh? Whut?" He slurred.

"Where were you?" Hestia asked. "We all went looking for you." Percy looked up at her with unfocused eyes.

"Went to Germany," he told her tiredly.

"Wha-why did you go to Germany?" Hestia questioned with furrowed brows.

"Was happy in Germany. Got vacation," Percy stated. "That was with you, though. Not the same without." Hestia felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

"And then you came here?" She inquired, to which Percy nodded.

"Looking for you." He tried poking her in the nose for emphasis but missed and hit her cheek instead. "But you weren't here. Didn't know where to go so just sat down and had a drink." Percy finished his statement with a helpless shrug.

"A drink?" Hestia asked incredulously. "You've finished three bottles of god-level whiskey." Percy gave an uncharacteristic giggle that made Hestia's brows rise.

"Yeah, I know," Percy said, still half-giggling before leaning towards her and lowering his voice as if he was about to tell her a secret. "And it wasn't even that good." And then he completely lost it, laughing like he had just told her the world's funniest joke.

"Uh," Hestia didn't really know how to deal with Percy like that, usually he seemed happy, with an idiotic or sarcastic comment always ready, going down to serious or even somber when thinking about his past, but there he was, sitting on her kitchen floor and giggling like a thirteen year old school girl. "Percy?"

"Yes," Percy was suddenly completely serious and one hundred percent focused on Hestia. The sudden change in mood completely threw her off and she found herself staring at the young Titan open-mouthed. "Hestia," he said, trying to get her attention.

"Uh, yes," she said.

"It's okay."

"What is?"

"I don't know." And Percy was back to laughing his ass off.

"I have no idea what I am supposed to do with you right now." Hestia stated. Maybe just put him in a bed and have him sleep it off or even just leaving him there to sleep it off. No, she couldn't leave him there, his back would be killing him in the morning and besides, he did love the bed he'd slept in before so he'd probably be out like a light in no time.

She grabbed his shoulder and tried to flash him to the guest room but found that she couldn't.

What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she even move him? Was something happening? Maybe she was fading; no one ever sacrificed to her or anything. The thought was terrifying, she didn't want to die. She had stuff to do. She couldn't leave Percy all alone drunk out of his mind on the floor in her palace.

Then she slapped herself on the forehead for being an idiot. Of course she wasn't fading, Percy was an immortal so she couldn't just flash him around like a demigod or something. That was all there was to it. Stupid, stupid Hestia.

"I'm getting too paranoid," she muttered to herself before she tried to get Percy to stand up. "Percy, hey, Percy. Get up, please." Oh, great, he'd fallen asleep. On the floor.

Hestia grunted as she put her arms around Percy's motionless body and lifted him up. Wow, he'd gotten heavy. It wasn't a big deal with her enhanced godly strength but it would've taken a very strong mortal or two to lift him. She carried him up the stairs and into the room Percy stayed in before he had been thrown to Tartarus.

When Hestia let Percy fall onto the bed, he grabbed her and pulled her down with him into an incredibly awkward spooning position. "Oh, no," she muttered as she tried to get away from the very strong immortal. "Percy, wake up. You have to let me go. Come on, wake up."

Eventually Hestia just gave up. It was obvious that Percy wasn't going to let her go and it was getting more and more tempting to just lay her head down onto his muscled chest and close her eyes for a while. Once she relaxed, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep listening to the sound of Percy's rhythmic breathing and feeling his warm body temperature.

 **A/N: Yup, that's chapter 9 for ya.**

 **Percy is pretty damaged – unstable, even – mentally and so he goes and gets drunk for the first time ever. I, personally, don't recommend that method but Percy doesn't know that. We'll see how it all goes on for our hero in the next chapter.**

 **So, I've managed to finish this in fairly good time but that's only because I split the last chapter in two so I only had to add a little bit. I know this chapter ends kind of clichéd but you hopeless romantics will probably like it.**

 **I won't promise a Percy x Hestia but it's seeming more and more likely when I think of where I want this story to go. If I do a pairing, that is. You want something else? Please do tell me. Also, tell me why I should listen to you. If you can make your case well there's a good chance I'll do as you like. I'm awesome like that.**

 **Please follow, favorite and/or review. You know the drill, I write the same thing every time.**

' **Till next time.**

 **-Manimal**


	10. Amazingly Awkward Awakening

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **A/N: I'm sorry about not updating in a while and to make up for that I present to you: this chapter that I should have finished a long time ago but am posting now so I made it longer in the hope that you'll forgive me. Yay.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Ten – Amazingly Awkward Awakening and an Adamant Albinos (Awesome Alliteration)**

 _It had been a rough couple of months in Tartarus for Percy, with his newly gained powers rebelling against their new host and Chaos beating on him every chance he got. It really seemed that the Creator didn't grasp the concept of Percy not being gazillions of years old and knowing all the fighting moves. Or maybe he was just a sadist._

 _Percy walked on, over a never-ending desert where no single life form could be seen, which, in itself, was a bit strange. Especially since Percy's senses were telling him that something was really wrong. Maybe he should listen and just flash away. But maybe he was still getting used to his powers and misunderstood being in the hostile environment of Tartarus as a constant danger._

 _Percy sighed, being a Titan was a new experience, to say the least. His clothes had, at first, been a little small but they somehow molded to fit him. Probably thanks to Aphrodite's charm-thing._

 _When he thought about it, the events in the throne room were kind of ironic, really. He had been blessed by a few gods but then he'd gotten new powers which made the god-gotten ones pretty moot. The only things that he wouldn't have gotten by killing Hyperion and Kronos and becoming a Titan were Apollo's disease power and Aphrodite's help with his clothes. And to think that Aphrodite had worried over her lack of usefulness._

 _The young Titan's feet kept on moving even as he himself remained stuck in his thoughts, head bowed down and eyes glued to the not-so-exciting, sandy ground. He was so deeply immersed that he didn't notice the huge cliff, the only one of its kind in a radius of multiple miles, until he literally bumped into it, head first._

 _He was violently startled out of his musings as his head met the hard surface and let out a small exclamation of pain. Percy reached up to rub his head when he heard muffled laughter not far away from him. Immediately, Percy cast out his senses like Chaos had taught him in the least painful lesson yet but didn't sense a single lifeform. Was he going insane already?_

 _He was just about to shake it off as a mishearing when a gigantic portal appeared, right in the middle of the cliff. He barely had any time to comprehend what he was seeing as a ridiculous amount of monsters surged out of the portal, which had likely been put there by Tartarus himself. Percy cursed. Just because the Primordial couldn't kill Percy himself didn't mean he couldn't enlist someone else to do it for him. A lot of someone elses._

 _Percy thrust out his hand and the first hundred monsters or so slowed to a crawl making it easy for him to slice them to pieces with his scythe. The ones behind kept their pace but once they reached the area of slowed time they slowed too. Soon enough, though, the pure number of monsters overwhelmed Percy's untrained time powers. He started retreating as the monsters' movements sped up._

 _Percy let the scythe disappear and summoned a giant torrent of water from his hands, which he manipulated to drown and crush the monsters while earthquakes ravaged their ranks. Still the monsters kept coming with no sign of relief of any kind for Percy. Because that power was one he hadn't trained extensively either, the water stopped flowing from his palms after a short while and so Percy had to make do with manipulating the water he had already sent out._

 _The earthquakes eventually stopped too and then the water was absorbed into the ground. Percy decided that he really hated everything about Tartarus. Even though he had probably killed over a thousand monsters, they just kept coming. Percy shot an intense blast of fire that disintegrated a couple dozen monsters and left him completely winded. He couldn't even think about trying Apollo's power._

 _The young Titan pulled out Riptide and called his scythe to him, which he turned into a sword. He held one deadly weapon in each hand and charged the never ending hordes of monsters. Percy slashed at all the monsters that he got close to and left them in dust form on the disgusting ground of Tartarus._

 _He was too tired to think of defending himself and thus received many, many wounds of his own. After a short, but valiant effort, Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, hero of Olympus, Praetor of the twelfth legion and, more recently, Titan of time and harvest was down on the ground at the mercy of the very monsters he had slain so many of._

 _Percy let out a whimper when he felt a sword penetrate his stomach and again when he felt claws tear through his skin and then again when a large clawed foot slammed on him, pushing him to the ground and ripping him open. His golden ichor sprayed through the air, further fueling the monsters' lust for his pain, as it pooled on the ground beneath him. For what felt like an eternity, Percy Jackson was subject to every kind of pain he could imagine and even more, never being allowed to fall into the wonderful embrace of death._

 _Suddenly Percy screamed, his golden eyes snapped open and an explosion tore through everything._

Percy's eyes opened and he tried to sit up, both of those failing as a) he had a headache and the light was too fucking bright! b) there was something (someone?) on top of him and c) everything was spinning and he was about to lose the contents of his stomach. Percy laid back and gave it his all, still only just managing to swallow the bile crawling up his throat.

When he was finally able to open his eyes, Percy was very surprised, to say the least. His arms were tightly wound around a woman's body and her head was on his chest. His eyes followed the soft, brown hair to the face and were greeted by a pair of wide, flaming ones staring into his. At that moment, Percy was immensely glad that he hadn't puked.

"Good morning," Hestia practically squeaked.

"Hi," Percy rasped, his throat dry. There was a silence for a few seconds before Percy cleared his throat. "What, uh, what am I doing here? And, uh, what are . . . you doing here?"

"You fell asleep downstairs and I couldn't flash you up here since, you know, you're immortal too, so I carried you here," she told him. Percy nodded, kind of embarrassed by the fact that he had to be carried by her. Then he realized she hadn't really answered him.

"But, um, why are you here, you know, with me?" he questioned. Hestia's cheeks flamed and she hid her face in his chest before realizing what she was doing and lifted her head again.

"I, uh, I brought you here and, uh, you pulled me down with you," she said. Percy's eyes widened and he finally noticed the way he clung to her like a child to a teddy bear.

"Oh, wow, I, uh, sorry," he stuttered, trying to form a coherent sentence as he removed his arms from around the virgin goddess, all the while blushing as madly as said goddess. He tried to roll away from her and she fell from on top of him down onto the bed, where he then proceeded to fall to the floor and pull the covers and Hestia with him.

He slammed down onto the wooden floor, causing his headache to reach new levels and then to make matters even worse, Hestia fell on top of him again, their heads smacking together. Percy squeezed his eyes shut, he'd felt ridiculous amounts of pain in his life but that was his first hangover and he was not loving it.

"Are you okay?" Hestia asked from on top of him, bringing him back to the present.

"Yeah, 'm fine," Percy forced out. Suddenly he felt a pair of soft, small hands touch his forehead and a comforting warmth started emanating from them. He sighed in contentment as all his pain melted away.

"No, you're not," Hestia stated, sounding annoyed. Percy supposed she didn't like people being in pain, even when it was their own fault. He vaguely remembered her saying something like that to him a hundred and something years ago.

"Am now," he told her. "This is great, thank you."

"No problem," she said. "But I'm only getting you out of this hangover, the next one you'll have to deal with on your own."

"That's great, I agree," Percy sighed, the comfort from Hestia feeling so wonderful that he'd have agreed to donate a kidney if she asked. Her hands then disappeared from his head and the amazing feeling with them. Percy made a small whining noise like a dog, causing Hestia to chuckle lightly.

She then realized that she was effectively straddling Percy, with their faces way too close for propriety. Hestia shot up quicker than Percy's still clearing mind could process and was out the door before he could even realize that she had moved at all.

"What the . . .?" Percy questioned the air around him. Well, at least she fixed the hangover before she bolted . . . for whatever reason that was. With his head cleared, dizziness abated and, best of all, his need to introduce the liquor he'd drunk the night before to the world again completely gone, he could work on standing up, which he did. Slowly.

Percy walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway into the second floor bathroom, he so needed a hot shower. Once in the bathroom Percy let the water start flowing before he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the floor. His shoes, socks, pants and boxers went the same way.

The young – in comparison to other of his kind – Titan stepped into the shower and couldn't contain his moan of satisfaction. The hot water cascaded down his body and left him feeling like a whole new person. No matter what his domains were, he would always be most at home in the water.

Percy spent the next fifty seven minutes and nineteen seconds in the shower, furiously scrubbing himself. He had over a century in hell to clean off, after all. He'd given himself showers in Tartarus with his own powers but he never felt like he was ever really clean, like there was always a part of the pit clinging to his skin.

After the vigorous self-cleaning, Percy turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, drying himself off with barely a thought. He looked down onto the floor and decided not to wear Aphrodite's clubbing clothes, rather summoning himself something new.

He snapped his fingers and a pair of gray sweatpants appeared. He got dressed in them and tied the string before turning to the mirror and running his hands through his hair.

"Really, Aphrodite?" he muttered to himself. "I get the need for a little trim but I don't think it's been this short since I was ten." Percy thought about changing it himself for a few seconds but decided to give Aphrodite the benefit of the doubt, beauty was one of her domains after all. He conjured up a black t-shirt for himself and slipped it on, along with a pair of socks and shoes before walking out of the bathroom in search of the goddess whose house he'd broken into the night before.

Well, broken into wasn't completely true, he just walked in. Hestia was way too trusting, or maybe she knew that no one would do anything to her as long as she stayed on Olympus. Whatever the reason, drunk Percy was very grateful.

Guided by his stomach, Percy walked into the kitchen first, hoping to find Hestia there and hopefully some food too. As good as he was with his powers, Hestia's food was better than anything he could conjure up, which left him extremely disappointed when he found the kitchen empty with neither Hestia nor any food in sight.

Sighing, Percy closed his eyes and put his fingers on his temples, focusing intently. He could literally feel the time stream around him and if he would just be able to reach a little bit further . . .

Percy's eyes snapped open to a different sight than they'd closed to. Things were relatively the same but there was a golden tint to everything. Suddenly Hestia ran into the kitchen, her face a darker color than the rest. It seemed to be a fiery red . . . embarrassment maybe? She started whipping up a full meal – a feast fit for royalty, really.

Most people might wonder what she was doing but Percy knew that she cooked to calm down on the rare occasions she got worked up over something or to settle her nerves over something she was worried about, the latter being the more frequent reason.

As good as Hestia was in the kitchen, Percy didn't feel like watching her work. Cooking shows had never been something he enjoyed. Percy fast forwarded the scene until she was done. Hestia then tasted her food and sighed in satisfaction.

She ate a little bit before she shot up from her chair, snapping her fingers and making the food all disappear. Hestia then disappeared with a golden flash. Only a few seconds later, Percy saw himself walk into the kitchen and knew that he wouldn't find anything else out from this.

Percy opened his eyes and sighed in irritation. Great, she teleported away. How was he going to find her? If he could just get an idea of where she would go then maybe he could hunt her down, for the lack of a better wording.

She wouldn't go to any of the Olympians that voted against Percy, he knew that at least, so that left Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, Aphrodite and the archer twins. It could, of course, be that she'd gone to either camp or maybe even to a completely different place he hadn't thought of. Well, he had to start somewhere, didn't he?

Percy disappeared from Hestia's kitchen and appeared again in his father's underwater palace. In the throne room sat the king of the seas along with his wife and 'legitimate' son. The sea god looked to be somewhere between worried about something and irritated, not that Percy could blame him for the latter, as a family of Atlanteans tried to explain to him why they shouldn't have to share a garden with their savage neighbors.

The Titan remained silent as he leaned on a column to the side of the room and waited for their audience with the royal family to be over. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Poseidon to take notice of his son and end the meeting respectfully.

The queen and crown prince of Atlantis looked confused until they saw Poseidon stand up and walk fast towards Percy. Their faces displayed a strange mix of shock, fear and anger, making Percy unable to resist sending a small smirk in their direction.

"Percy, where did you go?" his father asked when he was within speaking distance. "We went out and looked for you but you were nowhere to be found."

"Yeah, sorry about that, dad," Percy apologized. He felt a little bad for leaving his friends but he didn't want to think about it at that moment. "Have you seen Hestia at all? Since yesterday, I mean."

"No, I don't believe I have," Poseidon answered with furrowed brows. "But then, she's always been easy to miss." Percy snorted.

"That's an understatement." The father and son remained silent for a few more seconds until the other two occupants of the room decided to remind the two of their presence.

"Perseus," his father's wife said curtly, looking at him like he was a stain on the ground, albeit a stain that might jump up and dirty her dress, while Triton just looked on silently.

"Amphitrite. Triton," Percy greeted with a nod.

"That's Lady Amphitrite and Lord Triton to you, demigod," Triton said, sounding so pompous and full of himself that Percy almost tried to see if a minor sea god could drown.

"Then it's Lord Perseus, minor god," Percy spat at his half-brother. He was so not in the mood for his arrogant shit.

"How dare you –" Triton started, stepping forward but was stopped by Poseidon.

"Triton, don't embarrass yourself," the god of the seas quietly told his eldest son. "This is not a fight you can win." Triton looked at his father with disbelief clearly written on his entire face.

"Father, clearly you do not favor your mortal son so blatantly that you would assist him against me?"

"No, Triton, I do not," Poseidon reassured his son. "But Perseus is not a mortal anymore."

"What?" both Triton and Amphitrite exclaimed.

"Amphitrite, Triton," Poseidon started. "Meet my youngest son, the Titan of time, harvest and destruction." By that point both of their jaws were closer to the ground than their anatomy should have allowed and Percy rolled his eyes. He'd been a Titan for a long time – in his opinion – and the novelty of seeing people's shock when they heard was quickly wearing off.

"Yeah, hi," Percy said, waving lazily at them before turning to his dad. "So, I'll just go and keep looking for Hestia then, please tell me if you find her."

"Of course," Poseidon told Percy before the latter disappeared, with the last thing he saw from the council room being both the wife and eldest son of the king rounding on him and starting to ask questions.

Percy next appeared just outside of Hades's palace, he figured that he shouldn't just go in uninvited like with his father's place. Although, the palace did seem strangely empty. It had never been a place filled with life but there should have been something around there. In fact, when Percy started thinking about it, there didn't seem to be anything going on aside from the fields of Asphodel and Punishment along with Elysium. Not a single spirit or creature was walking about.

"What is going on here?" Percy asked himself. Maybe Hades wanted a little privacy all of a sudden? He really was the type to not want anyone around, but that meant that he'd have to send all the servants away and that didn't seem likely to ever happen.

Well, Percy supposed, only one way to find out. He walked up to the huge doors and knocked on them a few times, the sound reverberating around the Underworld. After full minute, in which nothing at all happened, Percy knocked again. This time he only had to wait a few seconds until the doors were pushed open. In them stood an angry looking son of Hades, dressed in a stylish, black suit.

"Father told you to stay away for today! Is it too hard to follow that simple –" Nico cut himself off as he finally caught sight of the man standing in front of him, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening comically. "Oh, my gods," he managed to whisper after gathering a slight amount of his wit. Percy waved awkwardly.

"Hi, Nico," he said. "Been a long time."

Nico could hardly even think straight. They had all been told that Percy was in Tartarus a year before but there he was, standing in the Underworld. Did that mean he was dead? No, stupid Nico, of course he wasn't dead, then he wouldn't be able to be where he was and knock on the door and be so . . . solid-looking.

"Nico," was heard from inside. "Who is it?" Percy's eyes were the ones widening when he heard the voice. He definitely recognized that girl.

"Is that who I think it is?" he asked the son of Hades who had yet to shake himself from his stupor. Percy pushed the doors open wider and walked past Nico just as the latter physically snapped to attention like a rubber band.

Percy walked on into the throne room which was just straight ahead from the entrance and saw a table in the middle of the large room. On it was everything one needed for a quality date and on either side was a chair. One was empty – the one where Nico previously sat, Percy guessed – and in the other sat someone Percy knew very well.

"You clean up nicely, Clarisse," Percy stated. And it was true, the girl he'd known to only wear practical clothes and never do her hair or wear make-up sat there in a beautiful black dress, with her previously stringy hair well-combed and make-up done to perfection. She was way prettier than Percy would ever have guessed.

Clarisse stood up slowly, with her eyes as wide as Nico's had just been. "Oh, my gods," she uttered.

"Yeah, that's what he thought too," Percy said, pointing at Nico with his thumb.

"How are you . . . ?" Clarisse couldn't even finish her sentence.

"'Oh, hey, Percy. Welcome back from Tartarus. Nice to see you're not dead.' Those are all acceptable. I'd even settle for 'dude what's up with the eyes?'" Percy said, trying to get them out of their funk. It seemed to work because both of them visibly shook themselves and their eyes snapped towards his, instead of staring into the blue thinking about whatever. They still didn't seem to be able to speak, though, and Percy sighed.

"Nico, where's your dad? And have you seen Hestia? Oh, and how long has this been going on?" Percy asked as he gestured between the two, changing the subject after becoming bored with the shocked silence. Nico blinked.

"What?" he asked dumbly. Fortunately for Percy, Clarisse was able to turn her brain back on.

"Lord Hades didn't say where he was going and Lady Hestia hasn't been here in a while. And, uh, this is the second date," she informed Percy, going slightly red at the end.

"Second date and you bring her to the palace of the Underworld?" Percy questioned Nico. "I can think of more romantic places, you know. I suppose it's a sweet enough gesture, though, clearing everyone out and everything. Also, weren't you gay?"

"I like it," Clarisse stated, obviously eager to defend her . . . boyfriend? Were they 'official' yet? Didn't really matter to Percy, he'd just refer to them as boyfriend and girlfriend anyway. "And it's called being bisexual, most gods are so it makes sense for some of the kids to inherit that too."

"I guess so," Percy said, shrugging. "Well, if neither Hades nor Hestia are here then I'll say goodbye for now." He was about to flash out when Nico _finally_ got out of his coma.

"Wait!" he called. "You can't just leave!" Percy's brows furrowed.

"I can't?" he asked, hating to be told what to do.

"No, I mean, yes, you can, but please don't," Nico mended. "How are you here? Why do you need to find dad and Lady Hestia? And . . . what is up with the eyes?" Percy stayed silent for a bit but decided to give them something.

"I was called back by the gods," he told them. "They finally realized that they made a mistake. First time for everything, I guess."

"They did?" Nico asked, to which Percy nodded.

"But what about the other stuff?" Clarisse questioned, not letting him get away with not answering them fully.

"I'll tell you guys later, you're on a date after all. See you later," Percy said.

"Thanks and, uh," Clarisse shuffled her feet a little before rushing forward and giving Percy a tight hug. "Welcome back, Prissy," she whispered in his ear. Percy chuckled as they let go of each other.

"See you guys later," he said, waving goodbye. Then he disappeared into thin air, leaving the son of Hades and daughter of Ares to continue their date.

Percy was so surprised that he almost had to squeeze his eyes shut when he appeared back on Olympus as the immense light originating from Apollo's golden palace. Only his powers over light let him keep his eyes open. Why would Apollo make it so bright? It served no purpose that Percy could see.

No one who was determined enough would let the light discourage them from breaking in – not that anyone would dare break into a god's palace – and it only annoyed everyone else. Maybe Apollo just wanted people to know which palace was his, although a big sign would also have done that well enough.

The Titan sighed and knocked on the door. When no one had come to open it after two minutes and fourteen seconds, Percy aimed a finger at the door, exploding the lock, and walked in. The palace was not nearly as bright on the inside as it was on the outside, Percy noted.

Well, he took back what he had thought about nobody daring to break in as he himself was technically breaking in right at that moment.

"Apollo!" Percy yelled into the huge palace but received no answer. He walked on and called out twice more but he still received as many answers as the Minotaur had brain cells. "I know that part of him is out on his chariot and a part of him is probably ruining a mortal woman's future but I thought he'd have at least one Apollo lazing on the couch," he mused to himself.

When he was about to turn around and leave, Percy spotted something that caught his attention. A huge map was spread over one wall and it seemed to be almost . . . alive. There were some markers all around it that moved around and it took Percy embarrassingly long to realize that they represented people and animals.

"This is some serious Harry Potter shit, right here," Percy muttered to himself.

Bear, deer, badger, Artemis, Thalia, and a lot of other animals and hunters were marked on the map. So Apollo was keeping tabs on his sister, likely without her knowing. This was good information that could be good blackmail material one day, should Percy ever need something from the sun god.

Skimming over the map once more, Percy almost missed a marker, one much fainter than the others. It was next to a fire, in the middle of the hunters' camp and was marked 'Hestia'. So that's where she went. If not for Apollo being an over-protective-older-but-still-younger-brother Percy might never have found her, with him never being able to locate Artemis's hunt without asking either Apollo, the one Percy couldn't find, or Zeus, who hated Percy. So yay to Apollo.

Percy allowed himself a small, victorious smile before flashing away to the place where he was most likely to get hurt. Or at least, where someone was most likely to try and hurt him. Skilled as they were, Artemis's hunters were not good enough to get a hit on someone who could, among other things, slow them down to the speed of a snail.

Just as expected, the hunters had their bows trained on him the second he appeared and a couple of them even shot at him. Those arrows were dealt with easily enough, just a thought from Percy and they were ash on the ground.

"There's always so much hostility from you," Percy said nonchalantly as he walked forward, closer to the small goddess who was sitting at the hearth. "I just came here to find a friend."

"No, you didn't!" one hunter yelled. "You don't have any friends here!" Percy turned to look at her and saw that the hunter was a remarkably tall girl, looking maybe sixteen at most and seemed to be very angry. The most attention grabbing thing about her were her skin and hair, both chalk-white, and red eyes.

Percy tilted his head to the side slightly as he studied her. She was well-built and obviously knew how to handle the bow in her hand. She also had one of the biggest knives Percy had ever seen hanging in a sheath on her waist. Seriously, that thing was almost the size of a small sword.

By this time, all the other hunters had relaxed their bows and were watching the 'stand-off' between their sister-in-arms and Percy, especially the black-haired girl with electric blue eyes. She was watching Percy really intently, like she wanted to punch him but also pat him and scratch him behind the ears because he was so adorable.

The albino hunter apparently noticed that her adversary's attention was moving away from her so she rudely shot an arrow at him. Didn't Artemis teach them how unsportsmanlike that was?

Percy just swiped his hand through the air and the arrow exploded, tiny little mushroom cloud and all, causing the hunters to string their bows back and get ready to try and turn Percy into a titanic porcupine, albeit one with the sharp ends pointed inwards.

"Wait, everyone, put your weapons down!" their lieutenant ordered, her eyes wide and filled with panic and confusion. Percy looked back at her and silently evaluated his old friend. She didn't really do anything to him before he went down but she did ignore him . . . Percy gave her a small smirk before turning his back on her and walking away.

"Percy! Is that really you?" Thalia called, starting to run after him.

"Far as I know, yes," Percy answered without looking at her. Thalia caught up to him and was about to grab his shoulder when she tripped on a root sticking up from the ground that she could have sworn hadn't been there before. Percy kept walking and sat down by the fire, next to Hestia who seemed to be studiously ignoring him.

"Hi," he said to her. "You, uh, left kind of abruptly."

"I'm sorry," Hestia apologized to the air. "I was hungry and wanted to see if Artemis had hunted something good recently, she lets me eat with her and her hunters if I want to."

"Oh, I understand," Percy stated, feeling hurt that she'd lie to him. Why was she doing that? Did she not want him to know that she cooked for herself? Did she maybe think that he'd be offended that she'd eaten and not left anything for him? Yeah, that was probably the reason. She was way too nice to lie about something unless she wanted to avoid hurting someone.

Thalia caught up to Percy again and refused to give up on speaking with him, relentlessly obnoxious as she was.

"Percy," she tried. "Hey, Percy. Talk to me. Why won't you talk to me, you stupid piece of kelp-headed demigod –" The words died in her mouth as Percy abruptly stood up and turned towards her as an immense wall of force pushed her – and the other hunters – back and eventually to her knees.

"Everyone keeps making the same mistake, again and again," Percy stated in a deathly calm voice. "You call me a demigod when in reality I haven't been one for a long, long time."

"But they don't know that, do they, Perseus?" Hestia questioned from behind him. Percy turned to her and felt a pain in his stomach seeing the disappointed look on her five year old face. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments before taking a deep, calming breath and recomposing himself.

"I suppose n –" Percy paused, tilting his head to the side. "Oh, hey, Artemis is back." He drew back his power, causing the hunters to let out a huge breath of relief, almost as one. Percy snapped his fingers to stop time and turned into a red fox. Then he walked calmly towards Hestia and curled up by the fire as he let time start flowing again.

The hunters' faces were priceless when they saw that Percy had just disappeared into thin air. If he weren't a fox, he'd have had to try his hardest not to laugh at them.

Hestia also had to look around for a bit until she noticed the fox sitting by her side whereupon she jumped slightly, having forgotten that particular gift in the midst of all the other revelations about Percy's powers. Seeing her reactions, Percy gave her as good a grin as he could, being a fox that was easier said than done.

Shortly thereafter, a still twenty one year old looking Artemis came walking into the camp. Her face was set somewhere between neutral and scowling and her eyes held a determined light.

"Get ready, hunters," she said. "A horde of monsters is coming our way." The hunters immediately stopped thinking on the issue of the missing Percy and got battle ready instead.

Hestia's young face seemed to age thousands of years as she thought about all of the hunters that could possibly die in the coming struggle. Percy, however, perked up. The idea of a fight was immensely appealing to him, especially since the one against Ares was such a disappointment.

While the hunters all ignored the red fox sitting by Hestia's side, the child goddess herself looked at him expectantly. He tilted his head in question and she sighed.

"Are you going to help them?" she asked. The snarl-grin combo that appeared on fox Percy's face was answer enough for her and she decided to stay to heal injured hunters and a little bit to see if Percy was as powerful as he had seemed.

The hunters were all in position, bowstrings taut and arrows ready to fire. They waited, unconsciously holding their breath in anticipation. All of a sudden, a hunter noticed something out of the ordinary.

"Up there!" she yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the small object flying towards them. Artemis wasted no time in firing her arrow at it and striking true, as tended to happen with her.

A large explosion of Greek fire lit up the slowly darkening afternoon just as the monsters attacked.

As one they burst out of the trees surrounding the camp, monsters of all shapes and sizes. There were hellhounds, dracaenae, cyclopes, horned centaurs, telkhines, and many more. All of them wanted to taste hunter's blood.

The hunters fought like a well-oiled machine, they had each other's back and all were extremely skilled. The first wave of monsters hadn't been able to even get near them when they were dropped to the ground via an arrow or two – occasionally there were more – and turned to dust, dispersing in the wind.

The monsters were barely able to get any traction but soon their superior numbers gave them the upper hand. It seemed that for every monster a hunter killed, two more took its place, cliché as it sounded. Artemis, of course, was as deadly as she was beautiful, firing arrows at speeds unimaginable to anyone other than someone who held the domain of time.

Percy watched the battle intently, hardly missing out on any single move and it was probably this attention to detail which allowed him to intervene in an otherwise deadly moment.

A hunter had been reaching into her quiver for an arrow when she was hit by an almost invisible projectile. She fell to the ground, yelling out in pain and compromising the focus of two hunters near her. They, too, were hit and fell down.

The other hunters were too busy trying to stay alive to help the wounded of their number do the same but Percy Jackson was not. He abandoned his disguise as a fox in favor of his own body. Y'know, opposable thumbs and all that stuff. Very useful when fighting with a sword for example.

Percy snapped his fingers – also impossible without opposable thumbs – and everyone in the vicinity slowed to a crawl. Their perception of time was still the same but their bodies felt like they were moving through syrup. Percy knew the panic running through their minds, he'd had that power used against him a few times before.

He could see the fear slowly appearing in everyone's eyes as they struggled to understand what was happening and it almost made him happy. He walked calmly among the people, his golden eyes blazing as he reveled in the power he held.

Suddenly he stopped, blinking his eyes in confusion. What was he doing? He wasn't acting like himself, that's for sure. He looked around upon the horrified faces of both ally and enemy but he couldn't snap out of his power-filled reverie until his eyes landed on the small Hestia, looking into his eyes with confusion and . . . fear.

She was afraid of him. Not the horde of monsters trying to kill them all, but _him._

Percy stood, staring into Hestia's flaming eyes for twenty one seconds until his hold on time slipped and everyone's movements returned to normal speed. After three and a half seconds of confusion, everyone returned to the battle. Everyone except for Percy and Hestia, who continued staring into each other's eyes.

Hestia's eyes still held a remainder of that fear Percy had seen but it was mostly covered by a layer of apprehension and disappointment, something that caused Percy's insides to churn. Seeing those emotions as plainly as he did on the face of the gentle and sweet Hestia and to know that he was the reason for it hurt Percy deeply.

There was so much wrong with him and he didn't know what to do. All he seemed to be able to do was disappoint people and make things worse, like always. Even when he was a child, Percy had made things much too difficult for his mother and he knew that his father and the other gods didn't approve of his constant impertinence.

In Tartarus, Percy had felt that he was constantly disappointing Chaos and ever since he'd gotten out of the pit, nothing good had happened; he'd kicked Ares's butt (funny but ultimately unnecessary) and then had a breakdown, leading to his getting very drunk and trapping Hestia – a virgin goddess, no less – in a bed with him overnight.

Percy closed his eyes, grabbing at his hair and screaming in frustration. Every single living thing stopped moving and a fraction of a second later, the monsters all started glowing from the inside before they exploded in a spectacular show of golden dust and miscellaneous colors of blood spraying in all directions.

For two point eight seconds no one even dared breathe, let alone move or talk. The first one to gather their wits was the explosive demigod daughter of Zeus, but even her demeanor was subdued after the incredible events they all just witnessed.

"What . . . what was that?" she asked, almost as speechless as everyone else.

"I don't . . . Percy?" Artemis asked, surprised to see the former demigod in her all-female camp. Percy looked at her and then at all the astonished faces around him. He didn't know what to do, so he just did the easiest thing – he ran away.

Well, actually he teleported but whatever.

Percy appeared on a sidewalk in a quiet town and fell down on one knee, his eyes shut tightly and his hands fisting his hair so hard it hurt. What was wrong with him? After sixteen seconds he was able to stand up and, once realizing exactly where he'd unconsciously teleported, immediately set out to look for a single house. Since he'd only been there once before – and that one time was over a century before – it took him a little while to actually find it.

He walked to the front door and raised his hand to knock when he suddenly paused. He'd been gone so long and he'd changed so much, what if he couldn't even be the man she remembered him to be? What if she couldn't love the person he'd become?

 _No, that's stupid, Percy,_ he chastised himself. She'd love him no matter what, right?

Percy stood for a few more seconds with his arm raised and ready to knock, thinking hard on the matter. What was the right thing to do? She'd probably gotten over his disappearance already and it might just make things worse to walk back into her life being as unstable as he'd been since coming back from the pit. Would she even recognize him?

 _Come on, Percy, man up. Of course she'll recognize you and of course she'll love seeing you,_ he tried convincing himself but doubting his every thought all the same. _Ah, screw it._

He knocked on the door three times, each knock noticeably weaker than the last.

Percy heard a faint "just a minute!" coming from inside the house and his insides twisted violently as he recognized the voice he'd wanted to hear for so, _so_ long. Thirty eight seconds later the door opened and a kind-looking woman stood there with a warm smile on her face, the kind of smile that only she could produce.

Her brown hair had started greying lightly and her blue eyes, although widening immensely as she looked at him, were as bright as ever. She had accumulated a couple of new wrinkles over the one year Percy had been gone and she was wearing clothes that seemed more expensive that anything she and Percy could have afforded only a few years prior – in her time, that is – but she still smelled of candy and chocolate chip cookies and something that was just so undeniably _her._

"Percy," she whispered, her hand tentatively reaching out to touch his shoulder but stopping short a few inches away. Percy smiled at her with tears forming in his eyes.

"Hi, mom."

 **A/N: Really, I am sorry about this but since school started again my previously ridiculous levels of laziness and procrastination have reached new heights and that, unfortunately, extends to this too. Seriously, I think that one of my ancestors probably got weird with a sloth.**

 **Anyway, I hope that all these different characters meeting Percy makes up for this. The next chapter will obviously have Percy and Sally reuniting and stuff like that but we might just see some of the characters glimpsed here. Also, the albino hunter is awesome and she'll most likely appear more often. Case in point: She's an albino hunter. She has anger issues. She has a huge knife and she's not afraid to use it. Really.**

 **Okay, everybody ready? It's time for a small announcement.**

 **Some of you wanted Percy x Hestia x Artemis but I don't think that'd work out for anybody, at least not me. Sorry to those who wanted that but I doubt I'll ever do a multi pairing.**

 **Announcement over.**

 **Please do follow, favorite and/or review. It makes all the difference in the world to me. When I saw that I'd gotten 150 reviews I decided to put everything I had into finishing faster, that number is awesome and I hope that we'll reach 200 in no time 'cause that's an even more awesome number (of course, 250 is an even more awesome number than 200 but I think that 100 reviews for one chapter is asking too much. Or is it?).**

' **Till next time,**

 **-Manimal**


	11. Mother Knows Best

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **A/N: Hi, long time no see! I've been lazy, no excuse for that. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Eleven – Home is Where the Hearth is**

Percy may have been the Titan of Time but he didn't have any to prepare himself for the gigantic hug his mother decided to bestow upon him when he appeared on her doorstep. The woman claimed to be mortal but Percy was almost one hundred percent sure she was not supposed to be. Even Tyson's hugs had nothing on that one.

"M-mom," Percy tried. "Mom!" After he'd tried to get attention several times, she finally relinquished her hold on her son, leaving him to take a huge breath to refill his lungs.

"Percy!" Sally exclaimed, her hands running over his face and shoulders to convince herself that it was really him and that he was really there.

"Yeah, mom. It's me."

"Oh, gods," she sobbed, hugging him again, this time much gentler, and burying her face in his chest, seeing as she couldn't reach any higher. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Percy told her, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his mother in a hug he had waited for in over a century. After what seemed to be an entire eternity but still not long enough, Sally pulled away to look her son over.

She started down at his feet and looked her way up his body, larger and more muscular than it had been last she'd seen him. She continued upwards, lightly fingering the large-ish scar at his jaw and then finally almost having a heart attack when she saw his differently colored eyes.

Percy, noticing his mother's look of absolute incredulity, smiled at her and gestured into the house. "Maybe we should go inside and sit down before I start explaining everything." Sally, her eyes still wide, nodded weakly before shaking her head to clear it.

"Yes, yes of course," she said. "Come on in, Paul should be here any second now." The two of them entered the house, heading for the living room. Sally was shaking slightly, the feelings she was experiencing too intense to put into words.

The two of them had sat in a sofa in the living room for ten minutes and twenty four seconds, Sally keeping a hold on Percy and whispering about how her baby was finally home the entire time, when Paul came home.

"Honey, I'm home!" the English teacher called into the house. Percy almost laughed at the cliché of that but restrained himself, deciding to leave his presence a secret for a few more seconds.

"Paul, get in here," Sally's voice broke on the last word and she cleared her throat before continuing. "There's someone here you need to see."

"Sally, are you alright? Who is i –" Paul's words got caught in his throat as he spotted his stepson sitting in the sofa. "Percy?" the word was a mere whisper coming out of his mouth.

"Hey, Paul," Percy smiled at his stepfather's dumbstruck expression. "You should sit down, I think mom's been waiting long enough for an explanation."

"Yes, of course, yes, I-I'll just sit down," Paul stuttered as he made his way to the armchair facing the sofa in which Percy and Sally sat. Percy took a deep breath, he couldn't tell them everything that happened in Tartarus, there was no way. If he had to make his demigod quests seem not-so-dangerous he'd definitely need to downplay the difficulties he'd faced in the pit of eternal damnation.

"So, uh, to begin, what do you know about . . . what happened to me?" Percy asked.

"A few days after we got here, Hestia came back with a few other gods and goddesses and they said that-that you were," Sally paused slightly as she looked at Percy and tightened her grip on his arm, as if to assure herself that he was not going anywhere. "They said you were back in . . . in Tartarus," she forced the last two words out of her mouth but only managed to get them out in a whisper.

"They said that you had been wrongfully sentenced but they couldn't do anything about it," Paul told him. "Since then they've come by every few weeks. They helped us get jobs in town and always make sure we're okay." Percy smiled, it was good that his friends hadn't forgotten about the most important people in his life.

"But what happened to you?" Sally questioned. Percy's smile dropped of his face as he thought about what to tell them. The truth? It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. Maybe just the outlines, they didn't need the details.

"I went to Tartarus, that is true."

After a long, long time, Percy finally finished his story. There had been plenty of interruptions so, even though Percy only told his parents what they needed to hear, he had spent a while revisiting the place he'd hoped to have left behind for good. When most of the facts had been set straight and Sally and Paul had been awed and intrigued many times, there was only one thing left to ask. Percy knew it was coming, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to lie or even disappear like the last time.

"Percy," Sally started, putting a warm, comforting hand on Percy's shoulder. "Are you okay?" The Titan of time, harvest and destruction looked at his mother and fought back the tears. There would be no crying. Not by him, not this time.

"No," he whispered, his voice almost breaking on the single word. Sally laid her other hand on Percy's unoccupied shoulder and looked right in his eyes. His golden eyes. This pair of eyes was nothing like the one Percy had possessed when he had been . . . sentenced.

Sally had seen Percy at his best and she'd seen him at his worst, she'd seen him in love and she'd seen him heartbroken. His eyes, once so full of childlike innocence, had turned into those of a fighter, a warrior, and she'd been there to witness it all. His first encounter with a monster, after his first quest, his second, his third, she was always there for him. Like a mother should be. She'd been there for him and she'd seen how he changed through the years.

But then he changed more than ever. He'd been thrown into Tartarus and he'd changed. He'd turned immortal, he'd fought his way through the Pit and he had survived. Then he came back, after more than a century down there he came back. He needed help, she could see that clear as day. He needed his mother more than ever.

She took a long look in his eyes, the bright golden eyes that almost seemed to glow, she looked into those unknown orbs for what seemed like an eternity until she saw the tiniest of specks in the iris. Right there, surrounded by gold, was a spot of a familiar sea green. She kept on looking and she saw that there were more, small but there. In the golden eyes of a Titan, Sally Jackson found her son.

Sally practically leapt forward, as much as one could leap the small distance between two people on a single couch, and hugged her son tightly. If a person's eyes are the windows to their soul, her son was still there. He wasn't too far gone and he could be brought back from the darkness the gods had placed him in.

"You will be," she whispered to Percy.

"How?" he asked.

"Because you're you, Percy," she told him as she pulled back from the hug and he wished that it were so simple.

"What if I don't know who that is anymore?" he questioned. "I've lived in Tartarus far longer than I've lived up here. I'm not sure that I can just go back to this life."

"You don't have to," his mother countered. "You've gone a long, long way and you have an even longer way to go. Your time as a demigod, your time in Tartarus, they're just chapters of your life and you can't let them define you. You have a lot to learn and you have a lot to do, never tell yourself that you can't do something. You're the strongest person I know, Percy. And I should know, seeing as I raised you." Percy chuckled.

"You did very well in that regard," he stated, causing both his mother and almost forgotten step-father to laugh quietly.

"Couldn't agree more," said a warm voice coming from the door. Percy spun around to see Hestia standing there. He wondered briefly how he hadn't sensed her before until he realized that, duh, this was her house. She was probably like Agent Smith in the Matrix there.

"Hestia, how wonderful to see you," Sally greeted with a smile. "Can I help you?" She wasn't sure what Hestia's feelings were on Percy after his retelling of that fight in the woods. He was probably being overly dramatic but she couldn't be sure.

"You too, Sally," Hestia said. "I figured this would be the place Percy would go to so I decided to give him some time to talk with you. I would like to speak with him myself now, if you don't mind." Sally looked at Percy who seemed conflicted. She could see that he wanted to talk to Hestia but he wasn't sure what she thought of him. She decided then that as his mother she had the executive power to make decisions like those for him.

"Of course you can," she allowed, causing Percy to look at her like a deer in headlights. She smiled and patted his arm. "You'll be fine, I know it."

Percy could see it in her eyes that she wasn't just talking about his impending conversation with the goddess of the hearth, although that was a prominent part. He sighed, no use trying to delay the inevitable. He had nowhere to go where she couldn't find him and he wasn't sure that he wanted to be somewhere she couldn't find him. Even though it had been over one hundred years, she was still his friend.

"Sure."

Hestia gestured to the door and Percy walked outside. The two of them walked slowly along the street in the city of Franklin, neither speaking for three minutes and twenty four seconds until the silence was broken by Percy.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"About what?" Hestia asked.

"About, you know . . . losing it in that battle. I'm not sure what came over me."

"You're an idiot."

"Sorry?" Percy looked at Hestia with eyebrows raised.

"You're an idiot," she repeated. Percy waited for an explanation but Hestia kept quiet. They walked on for a few more minutes until they came to a park, filled with people out and about in the good weather with their families. The eldest Olympian and the youngest Titan sat down on a bench.

Percy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the sun's warm rays bathe his face for the first time in years. He exhaled slowly, feeling his body relax completely. Suddenly he felt Hestia's warm hand slip over his own. He opened his eyes and looked at her, seeing her warm, fiery eyes filled with concern.

"Percy," she started, saying his name quietly. "You can't keep running away. Your friends, your family, they're just worried. They want to help, however they can."

"I don't think they can," Percy told her, sounding pathetic even to himself.

"Then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," she stated. "I know the power one's family holds, I am the goddess of it, you know."

"Yeah, but –" Percy couldn't finish his sentence, Hestia used her unoccupied hand and clamped it over his mouth.

"You've been through so much, Percy. Much more than anyone should have ever asked of you. And I know that, sadly, you have much more to go through." Percy chuckled.

"My mom said almost the same thing," he informed Hestia. She smiled.

"She's a smart woman."

"That she is." The two of them remained quiet for nineteen more seconds until Hestia dropped a bomb on Percy.

"You are something that no one has ever seen before, Percy," Hestia said. "A demigod-turned-Titan has never happened. The other Olympians don't even know what to do about it, not that there's anything they _can_ do. When you reveal yourself to the demigods, there are going to be a good many of them scared of you."

Percy stayed silent. He hadn't thought about that. He'd have to face them sometime, right? He couldn't just stay away forever, those used to be his friends. Nico and Clarisse knew that he was back and the hunters knew it, too. Hermes had possibly even told the camps about his 'triumphant' return already.

The demigods disliked him intensely when he went down to Tartarus, would they have changed their opinions after only one year? And how would they feel when they found out that he was suddenly a Titan with more power than they could possibly imagine? It would be an interesting confrontation, to say the least.

He wasn't being arrogant when he said that he had been a big part of Olympus's survival in the last two wars, that was just a fact. The first Great Prophecy had been about him, for the most part, and he'd been one of the prophesized seven in the second one. After all that, the demigods, who he'd considered his friends, still found it unbelievingly easy to throw him to the side of the road like a chewed-up piece of gum.

Ironically, his only friends were gods, who were notorious for abandoning their children when they weren't needed.

"Yeah, probably," Percy said, watching the happy families in the park.

"Are you going to try and prove that they should trust you?" Hestia questioned.

"No," Percy answered. "They had their chance. I won't waste my time with them, old friends or not."

"That's a . . . new way of thinking for you, Percy."

"Not really. I've spent much more of the last century than I care to admit thinking about what I'd say when I got out and I was never happy with it until I decided that I didn't really care," Percy paused and looked Hestia straight in the eyes. "I've given everything I had for these people. If that wasn't enough for them then it probably isn't enough for them now and I just don't care. They can hate me if they want but I refuse to let them have that control over me of making me feel bad. Never again."

He saw Hestia's eyes widen with every word, even as his own narrowed. Percy took a deep breath to calm himself, he would not get angry over them. They didn't matter. Hestia remained silent for another thirty four seconds.

"I keep forgetting," she started, her voice quiet. "You were down there much longer than we knew. You've changed more than I thought you would." Percy could feel his stomach churn as she spoke the words. What did she mean by that?

"And . . . and that's a bad thing?" he asked, readying himself for the answer he expected to hear but hoped he would not. The next two and a half seconds felt much longer than they really were.

"Not necessarily," Hestia amended, realizing how her statement may have sounded to someone whose self-confidence had never been especially high. "You may be different in regards to some things but I can see that deep down, where it matters, you are the same. You are a good person, one of the best I've met in my many, many years."

A heavy load was lifted off of Percy's shoulders as he heard her say that. Her opinion was the one he valued the most after his mother's and she could not have given him a better answer. He gave her his most genuine smile in a century and she squeezed his hand a little, smiling back.

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for six minutes and nine seconds, just enjoying each other's company and watching the people. They were all so happy, Percy could swear Hestia was glowing as she observed them. Then again, she was always kind of glowing.

"Are you going to keep staying with me?" Hestia asked, breaking the silence.

"Am I still welcome to?" Percy asked. Hestia smiled at him, that kind, wonderful smile that warmed anyone who was fortunate enough to witness it.

"You are always welcome to stay with me."

"Thank you, Hestia. I think I will take you up on that for now."

"For now?"

"I don't want to be a burden, I'll have to get my own place someday. But until then I suppose your palace isn't a bad place to be." Hestia smiled and looked as if she were about to say something before she suddenly frowned slightly and stood up. Percy also stood up, wondering what was wrong.

"Artemis is asking for you," she stated. Percy wasn't very surprised but he had been hoping that the goddess infamous for all her male killings wouldn't request his presence quite so soon after he lost control in front of her and all her hunters. Granted, she wouldn't be able to kill him even if she wanted to, which Percy did doubt.

"Why?"

"I don't know." Percy shrugged, only one way to find out.

"They still in the same place?" he asked.

"She didn't say otherwise," Hestia told him.

He nodded and then flashed to the hunters' camp. Just like before, a slew of bows were pointed at him as soon as he arrived, although the hunters didn't seem as eager to shoot at him this time, some of them even going as far as lowering their bows. The hunters were well-trained and little in their body language hinted at them being afraid but their eyes betrayed their true feelings. Percy could see it. The fear, the nervousness, the apprehension. They were things he'd grown used to seeing in the eyes of monsters but being the cause of that look in people – good people – didn't give him any satisfaction.

Hestia appeared beside him in a column of flame, looking mildly miffed at his leaving her as abruptly as he did. At her arrival, the hunters all lowered their weapons completely and their patron walked out of her tent. The goddess Artemis was back in her twelve year old form but she looked as intimidating as ever. If Percy hadn't been a Titan he might have been worried for his safety.

"Perseus, Hestia," she acknowledged. "Please join me in my tent." With that she walked back inside. As Percy followed her, he could hear the hunters' confused and affronted mutterings about a _male_ being let into Artemis's personal tent. He ignored them and kept walking until he came to the tent flap which he swept aside and walked in, Hestia following right behind him.

"Artemis," Percy greeted the small goddess standing in the middle of the tent, staring at him with her silver eyes. "What would be so important that you would allow a filthy male inside your very own tent?" The virgin goddess's only response was to roll her eyes at his sarcastic demeanor.

"Is something the matter?" Hestia asked. It would be so unfair if Artemis answered her and not him.

"Nothing serious, Aunt Hestia." And she answered, it was just because Hestia was a woman and he wasn't. Not like he could do anything about that. Or could he? Immortals were shape-shifters so was it really that farfetched to change genders? "I just have a . . . proposition for Percy."

"A proposition?" Just like that, Percy's annoyance was lifted and replaced with curiosity. What kind of offer would Artemis have for him? She turned her gaze from Hestia to Percy and seemed to be trying to bore a hole into his skull.

"In the time you two were gone, I had a visitor," she started. "Our _king_ came to me and told me that if I couldn't be trusted with the protection of the hunt I should find someone who could. This is an offer I don't want to make but my hand has been forced."

"Wait," Percy said. "You don't mean-" Artemis cut him off.

"Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, Titan of time, harvest and destruction," she paused for a second and a half before continuing. "Will you accept the status as Guardian of the Hunt?" Percy was speechless. _That_ was the offer she was making him? Seriously?

"Why would my brother tell you to do this?" Hestia asked, sounding as surprised as Percy imagined she could be. "What does he stand to gain?"

"Nothing, as far as I can see," Artemis answered. "It is my best guess that he is angry at me for standing against him in the matter of Perseus and so he makes me do something against the principles he has respected over the millennia. In simple terms, he's saying that since I bothered to fight for Perseus, I might as well keep him."

Percy thought it over, what should he do? He did need a place to stay aside from Hestia's palace and he did need something to do, he couldn't just wander around aimlessly forever, could he? He turned to Hestia but her expression was calm and betrayed nothing of how she was feeling.

"What is your answer, Percy?" Artemis asked. Percy turned towards her, trying to keep his face stoic. He already had his mind made up.

 **A/N: So that's it for this chapter. What's going to happen now? Will there be yet another cliché in this story or will something else entirely happen? I guess I'll have to write another chapter for you guys to find that out.**

 **Hope I can have it written within a month but a month from now is exam time where I have seven exams in four days, each of which decides if I fail that particular class or not so I have to study for that. I'm also working on an original novel so that takes a bit of my time. Most of my time is taken up by laziness and procrastination, though, so you shouldn't really be surprised if you don't see an update until late May or something. I'll do my best to update quickly, though. I think. Maybe. No promises.**

 **Follow, favorite, and above all, review. Thank you guys so much, you are amazing.**

' **Till next time,**

 **-Manimal**


	12. Explanations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Twelve – Explanations**

"No." Percy said firmly. Artemis looked surprised at his refusal and he could guess Hestia did too.

"I'm sorry?" The goddess of the hunt couldn't fathom someone turning down the invitation to join her hunt. She was waiving all of her rules to offer him that, wasn't that something men always wanted?

"I said no," Percy stated. "I could see the way your hunters looked at me, I heard what they said about me. I'm not interested. If you're in big trouble I'm always ready to help, but anything else – anything more than that – isn't happening."

"I don't . . . what?" Artemis stuttered.

"You really can't imagine someone turning you down, can you? You'd be a terrible prom date," Percy said and laughed, much to both Artemis and Hestia's confusion. "Never mind that, inappropriate joke."

"Well, then," Artemis didn't know what else to say. Percy had made it clear that he wasn't going to accept so what else could she say? Maybe just salvage the rest of her dignity and walk away? Yeah, good idea. "I will perhaps see you later."

"Yeah, sure." Percy smiled, it was good, if a little surprising, that she gave up so easily. He watched her leave and then turned to Hestia. "So, what now?" Hestia looked like she had something to say but didn't know if she should. After three seconds' deliberation she decided to come out with it.

"Perhaps you might like to go visit one of the camps?"

"Not happening." Percy's voice was firm.

"They've missed you," Hestia told him, only getting a disbelieving look from Percy in return. "You should at least go and tell them that you're back."

"Why?" Percy asked her. "Would they even care?" Hestia opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by a hunter's yelling.

"Jackson!" Percy immediately recognized the voice as Thalia's. "Hey, Jackson!" She was only a few feet away from them and Percy was silently weighing up the pros and cons of just leaving.

One on hand, he wouldn't have to listen to her and he could go and do whatever he wanted, but on the other he would have to have this conversation someday, no matter what. A bad one she may have been, but Thalia Grace was Percy's friend and he, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't forget that.

Ever since she'd gotten out of the tree, the two of them had had a weird and competitive rivalry, both as cousins and as the two most powerful demigods around. They'd helped each other out whenever it was needed. He looked out for her and her fear of heights and she'd busted her ass off looking for him when he went missing, even though he was a _boy_ and they were gross.

Percy sighed, he'd just have to hope that she didn't try and physically harm him because he might accidentally hurt her pretty bad if she did and he really didn't want that. One; as previously established, she was his friend and he didn't want to hurt her, and two; Artemis would probably attempt to kill him and make him a constellation or something. That one might put a damper on their friendship.

"Yeah?" he asked, staying as aloof as he could. Thalia stopped right in front of him before she rushed forward and grabbed him in the tightest hug she could. Percy stiffened, whatever he expected, a hug was not one of them, until he relaxed and hugged his cousin back. He didn't think that they'd ever hugged since that time in the throne room when Thalia became a hunter so the hug wasn't unwelcome. It just came a hundred years later than he'd have preferred.

"I'm sorry," she muttered into his shoulder and he realized with a shock that she was crying. "I was a terrible friend and you have every right to hate me but I'm sorry." Percy didn't know what to say. After a while of slowly rocking back and forth and Thalia whispering her apologies the two of them pulled back from the hug.

Thalia's eyes were red and slightly puffy from the crying. Percy reached forward and wiped her tears away. He had been planning on staying away from her and all his old friends but he was finding it much harder than he had anticipated. And to absolutely kill all of his determination, Thalia had started crying. Thalia Grace was crying, like actual tears crying. And Percy felt like an absolute tool trying to stay away from her.

"I'm sorry, too, Thalia," Percy said to her.

"For what?"

"I don't know. Nothing, everything, you choose." Thalia laughed.

"You're an idiot."

"So I've been told." The two of them smiled at each other.

"So, um, we're okay?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, we are," Percy told her. Thalia sighed in relief.

"Okay, good." There was an awkward silence for forty nine seconds until Thalia broke it. "How, uh, how have you been?" she asked before cringing at her own stupidity.

"I've been in Tartarus," Percy stated.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Sorry, stupid question," Thalia said.

"It's fine, don't worry," Percy dismissed. "I've been doing fine, all things considered.

"Really? How did you make it for so long?" Percy sighed.

"That is a long story."

"I've got time," Thalia informed her cousin. Percy sighed, this was going to take some time. He looked around for Hestia to tell her that he was going to talk to Thalia but found that she was gone.

"Where did she go?" Percy asked, himself more than anything else.

"Hestia? I don't know," Thalia told him.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'll just find her later," Percy said, turning to Thalia.

"Why are you hanging with her so much? Something happening between you, Jackson?" Thalia asked. Percy snorted and started to walk into the forest.

"Don't be an idiot, Thals," he said. "You do remember that she's a _virgin_ goddess, right?"

"True enough," she admitted, having caught up to him. "But with those freaky, sexy eyes you should be able to get into any girl's pants."

"What kind of a hunter are you? Aren't you supposed to hate all men, especially those who sleep around?"

"I'm the best hunter," she said, sounding equal parts arrogant and defensive. "And everyone sleeps around, not just men. Women can have sex if they want to, they don't all take the vow of chastity."

"I never thought I'd hear anything like that from a hunter, ever," Percy stated.

"I live to surprise, Kelp Head." Percy laughed. The two of them walked in silence for one minute and thirty four seconds. Thalia couldn't stay quiet for any longer. "So, are you gonna tell me your story or what?" Percy didn't say anything for a while.

"It all started when I found out that Annabeth was cheating on me," he began. "You may have heard, but I kind of trashed the forest and a little bit of the camp too."

"I did hear that, yes," Thalia said, smirking. "It's always good to remind those idiots how powerful the children of the Big Three are once in a while." Percy snorted.

"Anyway, I went home and while I was there a few dracaenae tried to kill my parents. I killed them but they told me of a war that was going to happen."

"Lady Artemis told us to prepare for something like that," Thalia told him. Percy nodded. That was good, Artemis didn't ignore possible danger like some of her family members.

"I realized that since the monsters knew where to find them, my parents wouldn't be safe. So I asked Hestia to get them somewhere safe and then she offered me a place to stay. Then Hermes came to get us and we went to a council meeting where Zeus and a few other gods decided to throw me down to Tartarus." Percy paused his tale and thought back to the day when he'd been told he was going to rot in the pit of eternal damnation for the rest of his life.

"And then what?" Thalia asked tentatively. It was the first time Percy had witnessed her being tentative about anything.

"Then I was blessed by Apollo, Hestia and Hermes."

"Wait, what?" Thalia was shocked.

"Yup," he said. "Blessings from three gods. My dad also did something and gave me more water powers." To demonstrate Percy held his palm open and a small sphere of water appeared out of nowhere. The sphere took various forms before it froze. It stayed frozen for two seconds and then turned back to water and slipped between Percy's fingers to the ground. Thalia stared in silent amazement.

"Whoa," she breathed. Then she turned a little angry. "That's so unfair! I can't make clouds out of nothing!" Percy raised his eyebrows.

"You can make electricity," he stated.

"Well, yeah, but I'd still like to make clouds." Percy shook his head, smiling.

"Anyway, then your dad told me to go to hell so I did," he continued. "On the way down I met the creator of the universe and he gave me some new powers." Thalia held her hands up, signaling for a time-out.

"Wait, wait, wait. You met the creator of the universe?" Percy nodded. "And he just gave you some new powers?" Percy nodded again. "Why?"

"He said that I was needed in the upcoming war."

"Oh." Thalia seemed like she was going to let Percy keep talking but then she didn't. "What powers did you get?" Percy just grinned at her and went on with his story.

"Then I went back down to Tartarus and met Kronos and Hyperion. I'd like to say that I gave them a good fight but I don't know, I think it only lasted about five minutes. I got a scythe through the shoulder, too." He pulled down his shirt's collar to show Thalia the scar from where the weapon had gone through his shoulder. She touched it and stroked over it with her hand.

"I hate that scythe," she muttered.

"I don't," Percy said. "In fact, I kinda like it."

"How can you say that?" Thalia asked. Again, Percy just smiled.

"When I woke up after the fight, I was tied down and Kronos asked me to join him in fighting the Olympians. I said no and then he had Hyperion torture me for a bit. Got a nice burn from that." Percy lifted up his shirt and Thalia gasped as she saw the large handprint permanently seared into her cousin's side. She put her hand over the much bigger handprint.

"It's huge," she said.

"The guy was huge," Percy said. Thalia looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Was? As in not alive anymore?" she asked.

"Yup, I killed him and I also stole his powers." Percy held his hand out again and this time a sphere of pure light appeared. Thalia was absolutely hypnotized by the sight. "That's the power I got from Chaos, by the way. To take powers from immortals I kill."

"What? Who's Chaos?" she questioned.

"The creator of the universe," Percy said, barely managing to omit the 'duh.' "I never thought I'd know more about mythology than you, Thals." Thalia glared at Percy and slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Shut up, Jackson." Percy laughed lightly before going back to the game of storytelling.

"After I killed Hyperion and got his powers Kronos came back and I fought him and got the scar on my jaw." Percy paused to point at said scar. "After I won, I forced him to fade and took his domains." Thalia stopped walking and grabbed Percy's shirt to make him halt, too.

"Stop right there, Percy," she said. "You forced Kronos to fade and took his domains?"

"Yup."

"What does that even mean?" Thalia threw her hands in the air. She didn't understand what her cousin was telling her.

"It means that Kronos will never bug anyone ever again and that the Titan of time and harvest is now me." Percy didn't think that anyone had ever looked as surprised as Thalia did in that moment and it was equally funny and terrifying.

 **A/N: Hi, guys! It's just a quick update to give you an answer on last chapter's cliffhanger and to give me some more time to figure out what's going to happen next. Also, I just moved all of my shit from Microsoft Word over to Google Docs and I wanted to update from that.**

 **I was about to update and saw that we've gone over 200 reviews! Thank you all so much. As a reward, I'll give you a sneak peek into my personality:**

 **So, I just want to clear things up. The last chapter's ending was just to see how many people I could anger enough to tell me in the reviews that they hated the direction of the story and that they weren't going to keep reading. It might seem like a stupid idea but I think it's incredibly fun to make people mad over weird things. Normal people would probably apologize for doing stuff like that but I can assure you that I smiled wide and sometimes even laughed out loud when I read the angry reviews.**

 **So, no. I was never planning on making Percy join the hunters, it was just a spur of the moment thing I did to see if people would actually get mad. Also, I found it pretty funny how people jumped to conclusions, even though I didn't even give an answer in that chapter.**

" **Oh, this is going to be another one of those stories, now I can't read it anymore!" You guys are hilarious.**

 **Tl;dr - I'm an asshole, people got angry, I laughed, the show goes on.**

 **Follow, favorite, review. Thank you so much. You all make me so happy. And that's not a sarcastic asshole comment, that's actual truth for once.**

' **Till next time,**

 **-Manimal**


	13. Time to Face the Music

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Thirteen - Time to Face the Music**

After telling Thalia about his new . . . position as a Titan, Percy braced himself for anything. What he didn't count on - though, in hindsight, he probably should have - was Thalia just standing there for six minutes and eighteen seconds before finally breaking out of her stupor.

"What?" she asked, her face wiped clean of any emotion and her voice steady. Percy kept his calm and, looking right into Thalia's eyes, told her,

"I am the Titan of time and harvest. Destruction, too, since we're talking about it." Percy's eyes were piercing and Thalia shuddered slightly under his black and gold stare. If he noticed he gave no indication.

With a start Thalia realized that he was preparing himself for her walking away, to maybe call him a monster or an abomination. He was so used to the idea that people didn't care about him that he'd started assuming that they'd abandon him without a moment's hesitation. And that saddened her more than anything else.

For the second time in one day Thalia Grace rushed forward and hugged Percy Jackson. Percy had seen her start to move and thought that she was attacking him so he was all tensed up but it didn't take long for him to calm down and hug her back. The two of them held tightly onto each other and Percy knew that finally he'd have someone who wouldn't walk away.

They separated and smiled at each other. The next eight seconds were very awkward.

"So, Titan, huh?" Thalia said. Percy nodded.

"Yup. And Agent of Chaos, too." Thalia's head tilted to the side.

"As in that creator of the universe, Chaos?" she asked. Percy nodded again. "Cool. What does that mean?"

"It means that I am a little more powerful than I'd be normally and I'm not bound by the ancient laws," he told her. Thalia's eyes got wide.

"That's great!" she exclaimed. "Then you don't have to just look on the misery of demigods, you can actually help!"

"Yeah, I can," Percy agreed. "And I can also breathe in space."

"Now that is awesome."

"I know, right?"

The two of them spent the next three hours and six minutes talking and laughing and just having a good time. Percy was smiling so wide he thought he'd never be able to stop. This was the first time in more than a century that he'd felt . . . normal. Little by little, he was starting to heal.

"Thalia!" Well, moment ruined. A young hunter came running, looking for Thalia for some reason but stopped in her tracks as she noticed Percy sitting next to her lieutenant.

"Yes, Amber?" Thalia asked, looking at the girl who stayed frozen for another two and a half seconds before breaking out of her reverie.

"Lady Artemis wants you back," she said in a small voice. "We're leaving." Thalia sighed and looked at Percy. He just gave a small smile, trying to convey that, yes, it was fine. She should do what Artemis said.

"Tell Lady Artemis I'm on my way, I'll be back in a moment." The girl hesitated for only a fraction of a second, so quickly that she herself probably didn't even realize that she did, before running back towards the camp.

"So," Thalia began. "I have to go now." She stood up from where she sat and Percy did the same.

"Yes, you do," he said. Thalia turned halfway around before she changed her mind and hugged Percy again.

"See you soon?" she asked.

"Sure," Percy said. "I suppose I could tolerate you for a little while longer." Thalia socked him in the shoulder without breaking the hug and Percy chuckled.

"Seriously, though," Thalia started as she pulled back and held Percy's shoulders tightly. "If you need anything, you can always find me."

"I will," he told her. "And the same goes for you." Thalia gave him one last smile before turning and running back to the hunters' camp. Percy sighed. What to do now? He really had nothing to do.

Well, there was always what Hestia suggested . . . No. He shut that out, he'd never go back there. But still, he'd have to go there when the war started so it might be a good idea to meet his old friends again if they were going to be fighting together. But no. He couldn't. Could he? Yes, he could. Really though? Yes, yes, yes, _yes_. He'd do it. He'd prove to everyone and to himself that he could do it. Yes, he would.

In a few minutes. Maybe just tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. Yes. Wait, no. Not tomorrow, he would do it right then. No waiting, no bullshit. Fuck.

Percy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He exhaled and then opened his eyes, suddenly standing outside the entrance to Camp Jupiter. Percy started walking towards the two kids, one boy and one girl, standing outside in their armor and holding their weapons and smiled, remembering his first visit to the Roman camp.

He'd shown up holding a goddess (a bitchy one at that) and with almost no memory. The camp had been suspicious of him at first but he'd quickly won their admiration and even been raised to Praetor his first week there. Suck it, Jason.

Ah, Jason. Jason and Hazel and Frank and Reyna all came from Camp Jupiter. Did they hate him? Probably.

Percy's mood had soured considerably but he hadn't stopped walking and the kids had noticed him. They started brandishing their weapons, one gladius and one pilum each.

"Halt!" one of the Roman demigods, the girl, shouted but Percy didn't listen. He didn't have time for that, he'd just go in there and confirm that everyone hated him and then go and give Hestia a big "I TOLD YOU SO."

"Stay where you are or we will have to use force!" Percy stopped. The kid's voice was cracking and he looked terrified, but he was still ready to fight. That was admirable. And besides, Percy didn't want to be the cause of two innocent demigods getting their heads chewed off by Reyna for letting him in there.

"Who are you? What is your business here?" the boy asked.

"My name is Percy and I just came here to check on some old friends," he answered honestly.

"Percy?" the girl questioned. "As in Percy J-"

"Don't be an idiot," the boy admonished, cutting her off. "Of course it's not him."

"How do you know?"

"Well, for starters, people always said he had eyes like the sea. His are obviously gold," the boy explained, gesturing to Percy's face. Then he paused and turned to Percy, slightly confused. "Why are they gold anyway? Who has gold eyes?" Percy sighed.

"Can you just call Hazel? Or Frank? Or Reyna?" he asked, not wanting to get sucked into a pointless conversation with people he might never see again. Both of the kids got suspicious looks on their faces and hesitated slightly.

"Why?" the girl asked.

"I told you," Percy said. "I'm here to meet old friends." When neither of the Roman demigods moved Percy waved his hand, conjuring up a chair, and sat down. The kids jumped high into the air, obviously startled by his sudden show of power. "You go get someone in charge and I'll just wait here in the meantime," Percy told them, leaning back in the comfortable chair.

The demigods conversed in hushed whispers for a few seconds until the boy turned and ran into the camp. The girl remained behind, her sword at the ready and pointing at Percy. "So," Percy began, startling the girl a little and causing her to poke the sword at Percy's head.

As the point closed in on his face, time slowed down and Percy used his right pointer finger to push the blade past him. Once time resumed its normal flow the girl stumbled slightly but regained her balance easily enough. Her eyes were wide with shock, though if it was because of the sudden change in the sword's direction or just the fact that he'd spoken to her Percy didn't know.

"What's your name?" Percy asked. The girl stared at him for five and a half seconds until she answered.

"Katherine," she said shyly. Percy extended his hand out towards her, slowly, so as not to scare her into accidentally trying to skewer his face again. The girl, after a seven second deliberation, switched her grip on the sword and shook Percy's hand. Percy gave her a small smile.

"Nice to meet you, Katherine," he said. "I'm Percy, as you already know." He was about to continue with some idle chat but was interrupted by the appearance of what was probably half the Roman legion reaching the gates of the camp. One female soldier separated from the herd and walked towards Percy and Katherine.

"Identify yourself!" ordered the demigod. Percy recognized her immediately and couldn't stop a small, nostalgic smile from breaking out on his face. He stood up from his chair and let it disappear. The act obviously startled and confused many of the demigods standing by Camp Jupiter's entrance, but Reyna remained calm as always as she marched towards the world's youngest Titan.

"I thought only a year had passed," Percy stated. "But you seem to have forgotten me already." Reyna stopped dead in her tracks, the shock easily visible on her normally stoic face. After two seconds of shocked silence, Reyna started running. Percy stepped forward and lightly pushed Katherine out of the way, though he didn't really have to bother as she would've moved anyway.

Percy could have easily slowed Reyna down and made her move as through molasses until he was sure of her intentions, but he didn't. Instead he let her come running, the surprising amount of joy on her face rendering him incapable of consciously accessing his powers.

The demigod daughter of Bellona reached the Titan son of Poseidon and jumped, leaving Percy to catch her as she collided with him, and grabbed him in a tight hug, arms around his neck and legs around his hips. Percy could swear that he'd never gotten as many hugs in his life as he had the past few days. Did Aphrodite spike everyone's drinks with hug-tails, or something? Y'know, like cocktails but make people hug. And for sex they would be f-

"Percy!" Reyna exclaimed right into Percy's ear, tearing him out of his thoughts. She pulled back just a little bit and laid her forehead on his, with her hands on either side of his face. Percy was sure it looked like some sort of lovers' reunion in a cheesy movie and all that was missing was the pouring rain. "You're back," this she whispered, disbelievingly, carefully, as if the slightest mention of the situation at hand would rip Percy from her and back into the depths of Tartarus.

"Hey, Reyna," Percy said, smiling but more than a little bewildered. He'd never seen her produce such extreme emotions before, not even when they'd won the war with the Giants. "How have you been?"

"How have I been?" she asked, looking like she was about to cry, her voice cracking slightly. "You were gone for a year! In Tartarus!" she shouted at him. Percy leaned his head backwards a few inches to avoid getting his eardrums ruptured. "How are you back?" she asked in a whisper.

"Well, y'know, nothing like an impending war to get the Olympians moving." Percy shrugged. "They pulled me back out of that hole because some shit's going to happen, don't know when but it's probably soon." In a second, Reyna's face morphed into that of a soldier. She let go of Percy and dropped to the ground.

"Who is the enemy?" she asked. Percy was almost surprised by her change in demeanor but then he remembered how Reyna was.

"Just a couple of Primordials, nothing big," Percy said nonchalantly. Reyna's face displayed the shock she felt, but only for a second before she collected herself impressively.

"A couple Primordials? Which ones?" she asked.

"Aether and Erebus," Percy answered. "Primordials of light and darkness."

"How will we win that war when we only just defeated one?" Percy shrugged, unconcerned.

"Gaea had all of the Giants with her, and there needed to be a god and demigod together for each of those, while Erebus and Aether only have a bunch of monsters and maybe a few minor gods." Percy gave a small smile that he hoped seemed at least a little optimistic. "There won't be any Titans, I can tell you that much, so the gods can concentrate fully on the two main bad guys."

"How do you know Aether and Erebus won't convince the Titans to join?"

"It's not that they can't convince them so much as they can't find them." Percy's smile turned mischievous at the end of his sentence.

"What?"

"I took care of the Titans while I was in Tartarus," Percy assured her. Reyna failed to hide her surprise.

"You? One demigod against all the Titans? In one year?" Percy tried not to laugh but he just had to. "What's so funny?"

"It's just that, well, nothing you just said applies to me." Percy calmed down as he prepared to inform Reyna of the details of his Tartarus journey. "Tartarus time is different. For me, over a hundred years have passed." Reyna's face gained a horrified look and when she opened her mouth to interrupt Percy kept going, just like tearing off a band-aid, he told himself. "And I'm not a demigod anymore, I'm a Titan."

There was absolute silence for nineteen seconds, until Katherine pointed at Percy and shouted loud enough for the entire city of San Francisco to hear.

"TITAN!"

And that single word was enough to cause widespread panic among the Roman legion. Everyone either raised a sword and ran towards Percy or turned around and ran the other way, causing a number of accidental injuries. Percy saw the terror in the faces of the crowd, the panic, the hysteria, and knew that he needed to put a stop to it.

He raised his arm into the air and snapped his fingers, the powerful sound reverberating in the minds of every demigod present, even as time froze completely. Everyone stood perfectly still, not even aware that anything was amiss, except Percy and Reyna.

"Percy?" she asked, a small, surprising tremor in her normally strong voice. "Did you do this?"

"I did," Percy answered. He started walking into the crowd and removing the weapons from everyone and throwing them into a pile to the side.

"How?" Reyna questioned. Percy pulled a nice-looking gladius from a red-headed girl and did a few experimental thrusts with it before discarding it as well. "Percy?"

"It is because I am the Titan of time, Reyna," Percy told her. "Kronos - or Saturn, I guess -has faded and now I am the ruler of his domains, time and harvest." The daughter of Bellona ran to him and started helping him to disarm the crazy crowd, probably just to have something to do. Reyna was a fighter, a do-er, she didn't sit down and shut up when she needed to know or do something.

"How? How did the king of the Titans just suddenly fade?"

"I killed him and forced him to fade. I didn't know that I'd become a Titan at the time, but I guess that's fine. A hundred and ten years is a long time for someone to live if they aren't immortal."

Percy told Reyna the entire story, from his banishment to his return, as they walked through the crowd, meticulously working to disarm everyone. The pile of weapons became bigger and bigger. Then they made everyone sit down and Percy treated the wounds of the injured people carefully. Reyna watched, transfixed, as his glowing hands healed each wound perfectly.

"Percy, this is incredible," Reyna stated. "What you've been through, what you can do … I just don't know what to say."

"So no one hated me here?" Percy asked.

"You were a praetor here, raised up on the shields of the people, chosen unanimously, no one could ever hate you here. You will never have anything but respect from the Roman people." Percy gave a small smile, gesturing to the large crowd of people.

"They don't seem to agree with that sentiment, praetor."

"They don't know that it's you yet," she explained. "The two on guard duty are new, they've been here less than six months." Percy looked over the part of the legion that had followed one of their praetors to the camp's doors, deep in thought.

"How do you think they'll take it, that their former praetor is a Titan, I mean?" he asked. Reyna was quiet for two seconds.

"They'll be scared, probably. Then, when reason and rationality finally take over, they'll see that you're still Percy Jackson, that you still want what's best for everyone." Reyna sounded so sure, so one hundred percent certain in what she said that Percy wanted nothing more than to believe her. But still.

"How do you know that I'm still that guy?" he asked. He didn't feel like that guy, he felt like a monster, like a man who had done nothing but cause destruction and discord in the past century. How could a man like that be a man who wanted the best for everyone?

"First off, you didn't force your way through the gates, you waited calmly until the kids got their superior. Secondly, you didn't slow down time to show your power, you did it to avoid suffering and pain. Not your own, but the pain and suffering of others. Then you healed the ones who needed healing, all of them." Reyna laid her hand on Percy's cheek and looked him straight in the eye. "You hold yourself up to a much higher standard than you do everyone else, Percy Jackson. Take it from someone who knows that feeling personally, cut yourself some slack sometime." Percy smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"You know, Reyna, if I didn't know better I'd think you'd gotten soft in my absence." Reyna removed her hand from Percy's cheek and punched him in the shoulder, her face serious but still bearing traces of amusement.

"Let's speed things up, Jackson," she said. "Time can't be still forever."

 **A/N: Aaaaaaaand cut! Whew, I made it. A new chapter. "Finally!" I can hear someone out there shouting to the wind. Well, sorry, I've been busy. Busy with work and watching the Euros, and reading a bunch of books and comic books and being the laziest shit I know of. Y'know, the usual. At least I updated before two months passed since my last update. In fact, it's a single day away from being two months. But still, that's less than two months. Just let me have that.**

 **Follow, favorite, review. All those things make me very happy.**

' **Till next time,**

 **-Manimal**


	14. Back in the Game

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Fourteen - Back in the Game**

Percy and Reyna stood tall in front of the sitting legion. Percy took a deep breath, the constant use of his powers beginning to drain his energy, and snapped his fingers. Instantly, everything started moving again.

The legionnaires tried to keep running but since they were sitting down it turned out to be too much for them. Their war cries turned into confused exclamations and quite a few girlish screams, many of them from the males of the legion. Reyna stood in front of the legion and they all looked towards her, quieting down in respect for their praetor.

That is, until one kid spotted Percy standing behind her.

"Praetor, look out!" he yelled, pointing at the scary Titan. The legionnaires around him also noticed Percy and started shouting as well. Reyna clenched her jaw in annoyance.

"Silence!" she shouted. The yelling legionnaires shut up but looked confused about it.

"But he's right there," a girl said, pointing weakly. Reyna stared her down until the arm was lowered and the girl tried to get out of sight.

"I know he's there," Reyna said evenly. "And I know who he is. Do you?" The herd of people sitting on the ground remained silent until an elvish boy - son of Mercury, then - raised his hand. Reyna nodded at him to speak.

"A Titan?" he guessed. Reyna nodded.

"That is what he is," she agreed. "But I asked who he was." No one answered this time. Reyna gestured for Percy to walk up to her side. He hesitated for only a fraction of a second and walked to the daughter of Bellona. He looked out at the demigods.

"My name is Percy Jackson," he said, into the shocked silence. "I have spent the last, well, year - what amounts to one of your years, anyway - in Tartarus but now I'm back, as you can obviously see. In Tartarus I had some . . . interesting encounters and became the Titan of time, harvest and destruction."

"You're not Percy Jackson!"

"Yes he is!"

"You can't just become a Titan!"

"What happened to the other Titans?"

The few people who believed him were drowned out by shouted questions and angry exclamations. Percy stood firm with his head held high, waiting for the crowd to become silent once more so he could continue his story. Reyna was not quite so patient.

"Quiet!" she shouted, and the legionnaires, just like last time, obeyed. "This is-"

"Percy?" a voice interrupted Reyna.

"Well, I was going to say unacceptable, but I guess that works too," the daughter of Bellona said to no one in particular as everyone turned to the dark-skinned girl with the wide, golden eyes standing at the entrance to the camp. Next to her was a tall, muscular boy. Both of them were dressed in battle gear and behind them was what looked like the rest of the Roman legion.

"Hazel?" Percy blurted out. Then he looked at the boy. "Frank?" Hazel seemed to be in shock and Frank looked like he was going to faint. That wouldn't be good. The legion shouldn't see their praetor faint and then drop to the ground like a sack of bricks.

 _Snap!_ Time froze. Percy walked around the crowd, towards Frank and Hazel. Reyna looked around her and saw that, for the second time that day, time had stopped. She shook her head. "This is getting ridiculous," she muttered as she took off after Percy.

"Shouldn't I just unfreeze the two of them and explain everything to them?" Percy asked. "I mean, they deserve that much, right?"

"You did that for me," Reyna stated. "I think they should get to hear it privately, too." Percy nodded and pushed with his pointer finger on each of Hazel and Frank's foreheads. Suddenly they started moving. Hazel jumped high into the air, her eyes wide with surprise, and Frank went the opposite direction. Percy stepped forward and grabbed the large son of Mars, stopping him from crashing down to the earth.

"P-Percy!" Hazel stuttered. "How did you . . ? Where did . . ? What?" The Titan in their midst didn't say anything as he lifted his hand up to Frank's face and flicked his forehead, hard. Frank's eyes shot open and he crashed to the ground. Immediately he jumped back up.

"Percy?" he asked when he'd regained his bearings. The son of Poseidon just responded by giving a stupid smile and a small wave. Frank looked so shocked that Percy was sure he'd set the bar for this year's 'biggest look of shock ever' awards. "How are you here?" Percy shrugged.

"The gods decided they might need me after all, so they let me come back."

"We thought you were -" Hazel stopped when she noticed the silence and the stillness of everything. "Dead," she finished lamely, looking around at all the frozen legionnaires.

"Right, yeah. Not dead," Percy told them. "And, uh, that's my work."

"What?"

"The stopping time thing. I did that."

"But . . ." Frank couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Everything was just so unreal. Percy looked around.

"Is anyone else here?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Reyna asked.

"Someone else of the seven," Percy clarified. "Jason, Piper, Leo."

"Oh, uh, yeah, they're here," Frank said.

"Cool," Percy said. "Let's find them and unfreeze them. I'll just explain things to them and not have to do it over and over again."

"Explain what?" Hazel asked.

"If you knew that I wouldn't have to explain it, would I?"

The four of them walked into Camp Jupiter, looking for their friends. When Reyna, Hazel and Frank walked alongside the Little Tiber, towards the bridge, Percy walked straight over the water, without even thinking about it. The three demigods stopped and stared at their Titan friend, before looking at each other, shrugging, and tentatively following in his footsteps. To their surprise they could indeed walk across the river.

"That was awesome," Frank said.

"I know, right?" Percy agreed. "Now, where to next?"

"Well, Leo's probably in his workshop and he'll know where Jason and Piper are so that's as good a place as any to start," Reyna suggested.

"Alright. To Leo's shop we go." Percy started walking but stopped after only a few feet and turned around to face his friends. "Uh, where is that exactly?"

Reyna led the group through the streets of New Rome, where everything was just as still and quiet as outside the gates. They stopped outside of a mechanic's shop with a large sign that said, _Leo and Calypso's Garage: Auto Repairs and Mechanical Monsters_ with a large bronze dragon coiled around the text.

The group entered the shop and immediately Percy was greeted by the beautiful face of Calypso. She looked a few years older than when he'd been on her island, but it only served to enhance her beauty. Leo sure went far out of his league for this one. Percy poked her in the forehead and walked further inside the shop, ignoring Calypso's surprised exclamations when four people appeared out of nowhere right in front of her.

It took Percy one minute and six seconds to find Leo, lying on his back in the middle of the shop under a large automaton, held in the air by a few sturdy cables. The son of Hephaestus was in a ridiculous position for Percy to get him out of suspended animation so he teleported the automaton to the other side of the shop before he bent down and poked Leo's head.

Leo shouted and jumped up in surprise, headbutting Percy and falling back down to the ground. He groaned, holding his head. "Ouch," he said weakly. Then he froze. Slowly, he moved his hands away from his face. His eyes widened comically as Percy entered his line of sight. "Oh, my gods," he whispered.

"Not really," Percy said. "Just me." He extended his hand to Leo, who, after four seconds of deliberation, grabbed it, and pulled him to his feet.

"You're back," Leo stated uselessly.

"Obviously," Percy said.

"But how?"

"It's not that hard, you know? I mean, you came back from the dead, so this wasn't that big of a deal." Percy turned around and started walking back to the others, gesturing for the fiery son of Hephaestus to do the same. Percy met with the others and noticed Calypso staring at him with wide eyes. Everyone had the same reactions to his appearance.

"Percy?" she asked.

"Yep," Percy said, popping the p loudly. He turned to Leo. "Where are Jason and Piper?"

"Uh, their apartment, I guess," Leo said. Percy looked at Reyna.

"They have an apartment here and you didn't think to look there?" he asked, incredulous. The daughter of Bellona looked slightly sheepish.

"I forgot," she said. When Percy smiled at her, almost laughing, she got angry. "Hey! You just came back from Tartarus and I never thought I'd see you again, give me a break." Percy just kept smiling.

"Let's go," he said. "I'm sure you can lead the way." Reyna grumbled but walked outside, heading for Jason and Piper's apartment. Leo and Calypso stopped in their tracks, grabbing each other's hands, when they got outside.

"What the . . ." Leo trailed off. They stared at the people, still as stone, and marveled at the quiet, usually impossible to achieve in this day and age. In fact, they were sure nothing had ever been so quiet. But then again, Percy Jackson was a big fan of doing the impossible. Hazel pulled at Leo's shirt, ushering him forward.

They walked in silence, the clattering of their feet on the stone streets of New Rome the only sound in the world. Suddenly, Percy tripped and almost fell, only just managing to regain his balance. He stopped and took a deep breath as his friends surrounded him, offering to steady him but only managing to make him feel claustrophobic.

"Percy, are you alright?" Reyna asked, concerned.

"Please," he said, slightly out of breath. "Step back." The group looked at each other and, reluctantly, took a couple of steps back.

"What's wrong?" Hazel asked. Percy remained silent for five seconds.

"This is becoming a bit too much," he said, giving a half-hearted chuckle as he sat down on a public bench. "I can't hold the world frozen forever. Ever since I came back from the Pit my powers have been a bit out of whack." The demigods hadn't thought about that. Percy wasn't all-powerful, he'd need a little rest sooner or later.

"Wait," Leo said. "You're doing this? You stopped time?" Percy looked at him, puzzled.

"Didn't I tell you that? No, I guess I didn't," he trailed off. "Anyway, yeah, I did. All will become clear once we find Jason and Piper and I can tell you all together."

"So none of you guys know what's going on either?" Calypso asked.

"I don't," Frank told her. "And neither does Hazel. Don't know about Reyna, though. She was with Percy when he un-froze us." The group, with the exception of Percy, who had his eyes closed momentarily, looked to the daughter of Bellona. She kept her expression calm, not betraying a single thought going through her head.

"Reyna?" Hazel asked. Reyna looked at Percy who waved his hand nonchalantly, indicating that, whatever Reyna told them, he wouldn't care. Reyna looked back at the group and nodded.

"Yes, I know what's going on," she said. "No, I won't tell you. That's Percy's to do."

"True that," Percy said as he stood up and cracked his neck. "Let's go finish this so the earth can start turning again." Reyna led the way to a nice and very generic, in the neighborhood it was, that is, it definitely wouldn't have been generic in downtown San Francisco, for example, apartment building.

"Top floor," Reyna said without turning back. Percy sighed.

"Fuck," he muttered. They walked up the stairs, floor after floor, for what could have been an endless amount of time but Percy, due to his position as the Titan of time, knew to be four minutes and thirty three seconds. The door was unlocked and Reyna walked in first.

Jason and Piper were both in the kitchen, eating. It was actually pretty hilarious, seeing Jason frozen mid-bite, but Percy didn't waste any time in poking his and Piper's foreheads and setting them free from the trap of time.

"So I said to her "No, Jamie, I won't -" Piper froze mid-sentence. "What the . . ." she trailed off.

"Hey, that's what I said, too!" Leo said, smiling.

"Percy?" Jason asked. Percy didn't answer as he was too busy stealing a bottle of water from the fridge and pouring over himself. He sighed as the rush of energy lessened the pressure in his skull. His powers seemed like they were going to tear him apart sometimes. "Percy?" Jason stood up and repeated himself. Percy turned to his Roman cousin and smiled that stupid grin everyone who knew him associated with Percy Jackson.

"Hi Jase."

Jason rushed over and hugged him, where he was soon joined by Piper. The rest of the gang, aside from Reyna, realized that they hadn't given Percy a hug yet and wasted no time in following Jason and Piper's lead. After seven seconds of tight group-hugging, they let go of Percy. Piper opened her mouth to ask the question everyone wanted to know but Percy interrupted her.

"I'll tell you all you want to know in just a second," he said. "But first . . . do you trust me?"

"What?" Jason asked.

"Do you trust me?" Percy repeated. "This is a question for all of you. I need to do something but I won't do it unless you all agree to it." The group of demigods looked at each other for a second before looking back at Percy and answering in the affirmative.

"With my life, Perce," Jason said, completely, one hundred percent sincere. The rest of the group echoed this, none of them any less truthful. Percy smiled.

"Close your eyes," he said, and they did. There was a bright flash, blinding even through shut lids, and a disorienting feeling of weightlessness for a fraction of a second before the ground, a different ground, appeared under their feet once again.

The demigods opened their eyes and saw that they were stood just outside the gate of their camp, with a host of legionnaires sitting on their butts, frozen in time. Jason and Piper marveled at the sight. Percy sat down on the ground, heavily, and gestured for his friends to do the same across from him, which they did.

"So," Percy said. "Where to begin?"

In forty six seconds he had explained to them what he was and how he came across these powers. It took him another five minutes and twenty nine seconds to tell them some tales from the pit, including his sentencing, meeting with Chaos, and the different passage of time, to which all of them reacted with shock and disgust.

"Now you all know," Percy said. He remained quiet after that. His friends did so too. No one knew what to say. Reyna, used to letting her actions speak for her, stood up and sat down next to Percy, signalling her feelings on the matter of his being a Titan. Jason stood up almost immediately after and Piper with him. They sat down on Percy's other side. The remaining four looked at each other before they stood up, moved closer to the rest, and sat down, completing the circle.

Percy smiled and looked down, hiding the tears brimming in his eyes. What had he done to deserve such amazing friends?

"What about the stiffs?" Leo asked, effectively shattering the moment. Percy looked up, wiped his unshed tears faster than they could follow, and snapped his fingers. Immediately, everything exploded with sound and movement.

 **A/N: Hey, guys, been a long time, hasn't it? The chapters have been suuuuper boring recently but that's just something I needed to do with all his friends finding out and stuff like that. So this was just a short chapter before some serious action and some actual plot advancement in the next one, get ready for that.**

 **I'm updating this** _ **finally**_ **because today is my birthday! Yay! What fun! Now that we've got the celebrations out of the way I'll get to the point.**

 **Since I'm starting a new year of my life now is the time for changes. So, if there's something you don't like about my story and want to see changed or something you really like and want to see more of, let me know. If there's something in the writing style that annoys you or if characters are too OOC for you, tell me. If there's something wrong with the grammar, definitely tell me; I, personally, hate to read stories with bad grammar so please, if there's something about that, talk to me. English isn't my first language so I'm mostly going off books, video games and TV. This is your chance to have your voices heard.**

 **For those who care, Marvel's Percy Jackson is also going to be updated today. I'm just about done with that one.**

 **Follow, favorite, review. Thanks.**

' **Till next time,**

 **-Manimal**


	15. This is Going to End Badly (For Some)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Fifteen - This is Going to End Badly (for some)**

The silence was deafening. Percy sat in a very comfortable chair in Jason and Piper's living room with all of his friends staring at him expectantly. He didn't know what to tell them. He opened his mouth and his friends all leaned in slightly to hear what he was going to say.

"Um," he started. Damn, that was not what he was going for. Wait a minute, wasn't he forgetting something.

"Percy?" Reyna waved a hand in front of his face when he'd been staring into space for a while.

"Shit!" Percy stood up, causing everyone to jump out of surprise. "I forgot!" He slapped his forehead and then disappeared.

He reappeared in the forest of Camp Half-Blood and took off, looking for his friend. He could sense the satyrs and the nymphs in the forest but one presence was more powerful than the others. The Lord of the Wild.

Percy stepped into a clearing and saw his old friend and his wife sitting down, playing with a small child. The satyr looked up at the newly arrived man and the shock on his face was probably visible in Canada.

"Percy?"

"Hey, Grover," Percy said. "How have you been?"

" _Blaa-ha-ha!_ " Grover shot up and ran at Percy, tackling him in a hug. The former demigod was more solid than the satyr had expected and felt like he'd hit a brick wall. Nevertheless he held on tight until it became awkward and then a bit longer than that.

"Been a while since I've heard you bleat like that, Grover," Percy chuckled. "I've missed you, buddy." Grover finally pulled back from the hug and then jumped up and bleated again when he saw Percy's eyes.

"What… what happened to you, Percy?" Grover asked. Behind Grover Juniper was standing up, mouth agape with a similarly confounded infant in her arms. Percy smiled at his friend.

"It's a bit of a long story," he said. "Why don't we sit down?"

Exactly seventeen minutes later, Percy had finished regaling Grover and Juniper -who had covered her son's ears during the more graphic parts of the story- with the story of his vacation in Tartarus. They were less than pleased with the council's actions and also terrified at the thought of another war.

"Percy, I don't- I don't know what to say," Grover said to his old friend. The one he had been sent to protect all these years ago. The one who had saved them all more than once. The one who had changed so much.

"You don't have to say anything, Grover," Percy said. "I just wanted to see you for a bit before the party starts. I'll see you around, man." Percy hugged both Grover and Juniper and gave their child a soft smile before he stepped out of the clearing and disappeared once more.

The Titan appeared in the Underworld, just outside of Hades's door. He raised his fist to knock but before he could the doors opened to reveal the Lord of the Dead himself. Percy was shocked to realize that his uncle was actually _smiling._

"Hello, nephew," Hades said.

"Hi, Hades," Percy said. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, since when do you open your own door?"

"Normally I wouldn't but it's the least I could do for you, Percy. I do owe you so much." Percy smiled sheepishly.

"You don't owe me anything, Hades, really. I just did what was right, nothing more than that."

"I know, but I don't think anyone else would have ever done that, I know I probably wouldn't." Hades's smile turned into a smirk. "Besides, seeing my brother tied to his own throne with your vines was worth a lot to me." Percy snorted.

"That I can understand." The two of them chuckled lightly.

"Now, Percy, what brings you to my palace?" Hades asked.

"Well, I was hoping to be able to locate Nico," Percy said. "I figured I'd start looking here and then maybe his cabin at camp, if he isn't doing anything inappropriate, that is." Hades smiled again.

"So, you've heard of his new relationship?" he asked.

"Yeah, I came here the other day and he was on a date. Never would have predicted that couple, by the way."

"I don't think anyone would have. But you're in luck, he's here. I think he's out wandering the Fields of Asphodel. He does that sometimes. You can at least look for him there."

"Alright, thanks, Hades. See you around." Percy waved his uncle goodbye, received a small wave in return and walked out of the door.

"Why anyone would spend their time walking around the Fields of Asphodel is beyond me," Percy muttered to himself as he approached the Fields. "Then again Nico has never been the most normal of people."

The Fields of Asphodel were this huge expanse of grayness that, if you looked close enough, you could see were people. Gray, ghostly, _empty_ people. Percy walked into the Fields and looked over the practically endless expanse, looking for his friend. He closed his eyes, feeling the emptiness of everything around him and quickly honed in on the single living presence.

"Hey, Nico," Percy said to his cousin who jumped up at the unexpected sound.

"Percy!" Nico exclaimed and scrambled to get to his feet. Percy put his hand on Nico's shoulder to keep him from getting up.

"Don't stand up on my account, Nico. We're going to have to sit down to talk anyway." Percy sat down opposite his cousin. "So why are you out here? This is kind of bleak, even for you."

"It helps me think," Nico said defensively. "Tune out the rest of the world." Percy nodded.

"I get that," he said. The two of them sat in silence for six seconds until Nico spoke.

"What about you, Percy, why are you here?" he asked.

"That's a bit of a long story," Percy said and smiled.

 **X**

Percy reappeared outside of Jason and Piper's apartment and rapped his knuckles on the door. Almost immediately the door was opened and Jason pulled Percy inside the apartment.

"Where did you go, man?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed. "We were worried about you."

"What?" Percy looked around him and saw the looks on his friends' faces. They'd actually been worried. Wow, that's new. "I'm sorry, guys. I just realized something and had to go take care of that."

"What did you do?" Reyna asked.

"Nothing big, just went to talk to Grover and Nico. Figured they sho-" Percy was cut off when a shrill scream rang through the air, picked up by Percy's keen senses. He stood up and disappeared from sight, reappearing outside in the middle of the street.

The members of the legion were streaming to where the scream had originated from. Percy took off at a run and passed them all, arriving at the scene to a sight he had been waiting for.

A horde of cyclopes, Laistrygonians, empousai, dracaenae, hellhounds and centaurs was advancing on the camp, their growls and the clamoring of their weapons loud as an Olympian council meeting. One of the two legionnaires who had first spotted the monsters stood shaking in his boots while the other one was laying on the ground, bleeding out from an arrow through the neck.

Percy stepped out in front of the monster and could see them falter. His eyes golden eyes blazed with fury and some of the more cowardly monsters tried stepping back but were stopped by their comrades standing behind them.

No one moved, no one spoke. With only twenty or so feet separating them, Percy Jackson stood against an army.

"Who sent you?" he demanded in a quiet voice and received no answer. Of course there was an obvious answer to that question but he hoped that the war wasn't starting. "Answer me!" The majority of both the monsters and the demigods who had gathered behind Percy flinched.

"You can't demand anything of us, fake Titan!" an empousa shouted. Percy shot her a particularly hostile look and she crumbled into a small mound of golden dust.

"I will repeat myself only once," Percy stated. "If I do not receive a truthful answer you will all pay for it. Now, who sent you?" The monsters remained silent for four seconds until a vicious looking dracaena walked forward.

"You know who sent us, _demigod_ ," she growled. Percy's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. "Our masters, the Primordials themselves, are rising. They will raze your friends, your family, your pantheon. Your world will be cleansed."

"Agreed," Percy said. "It will be cleansed of you." The dracaena started glowing from the inside and then exploded violently in a shower of golden dust. The impact took out every monster in a ten foot radius and the smell of sulfur lay over the soon-to-be battlefield.

Before anyone else had the chance, Percy moved. He ran, almost flew, towards the monsters and then he disappeared. Everyone looked around confused until someone looked up and shouted. Percy hovered in the air about thirty feet above the horde of monsters and held out his right hand. The light bent around his hand and a hammer appeared. Percy smiled grimly before he dropped down and slammed his hammer down onto the ground.

The resulting shockwave wiped out the majority of the monsters and sent the rest, along with the legionnaires, flat onto their butts. Percy stood up in the middle of the crater he'd formed, his eyes blazing. The ground cracked and vines sprouted upwards, capturing monsters and crushing them to death. The vines closed the battlefield off in a circle so the monsters couldn't escape. The circle narrowed quickly and the monsters were forced closer to Percy, terror evident in their disgusting faces.

"Tell your masters that they don't have to get up just yet," Percy growled at the monsters. He raised his arms and water started erupting from the cracks in the ground. The water swirled around the monsters and drowned them in a gigantic maelstrom. To Percy, their screams sounded like home.

Percy let the water evaporate and the vines retreated back into the earth. What was left was cracked earth, covered in golden dust, and silence. Complete, deafening silence. For eighteen tense seconds the silence remained until it was broken, like so often before, by a certain son of Hephaestus.

"Oh, my gods," Leo breathed. He seemed like he was going to say something else but he was interrupted by the legion, almost as one, falling down to one knee in a bow. Percy's friends stood for a little bit longer than the others but soon enough they too bowed. Percy could not imagine a time where he'd felt more embarrassed.

"No," he said. "Don't do that. Please stand up. Stop doing that." The legion rose, slowly, confused. As if they didn't believe that an immortal wouldn't want them to bow.

"Thank gods," Leo said. "That was embarrassing." Percy laughed.

"You're telling me," he said. "Come on, guys, let's get back into the city. I'm done with this. And never bow to me again."

 **X**

Percy sat in Jason and Piper's apartment, legs up on the table, arms behind his head and laughed along with his friends.

"I know, it was the single most uncomfortable thing I've experienced," he said. "Why would you guys go along with this shit?"

"Why wouldn't we, man?" Jason asked. "It's pretty ingrained in us to get on the ground whenever we're faced with someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Percy's eyebrow rose.

"I mean someone so powerful. Someone immortal," Jason explained. Percy snorted.

"Sad part is, I actually get that." Percy shook his head. "Damn it the gods are arrogant."

"You can say that again," Calypso agreed.

The group remained silent for nine seconds until an explosion rocked the city. The demigods and were all thrown out of their chairs and onto the floor where they landed in a heap but Percy had disappeared before he could land on the ground.

"Not again!" Jason shouted as he stood up and ran outside. When he and the rest of the gang arrived down on the street there was chaos. In the middle of town square there was a giant crater and people running scared. By the crater Percy stood, watching as a man walked out of it.

The man was armor-clad with a Greek style helmet on his head. This was a man that Percy had seen all too often.

"Ares," the son of Poseidon growled. The god of war's eyes glowed inside his helmet.

"Hiya, Jackson," he growled back. "Hope you've enjoyed your time back, because it's coming to an end, right now."

"Every time something happens, you're the first one to turn tail and crawl to the enemies," Percy said, venom dripping from his words.

"The Olympians have no chance! Not this time!" the war god shouted. "I'm a realist, Jackson!"

"No, Ares, you're a coward.."

Ares screamed and charged at Percy, giant sword in hand. He swung at Percy and his swing was so fast that Percy had to give his all just to dodge it. Ares then kicked at Percy and the Titan was thrown back where he landed on his back.

"A war is brewing, Jackson," Ares said. "I'm growing stronger by the day."

The light bent around Percy's body as he stood up and armor formed. In his hand he held a sword made of both steel and celestial bronze. He noticed the way Ares stepped back once the sword appeared and grinned behind his helmet.

"What's wrong, war god?" Percy asked. "Afraid of my sword?" Ares snarled like an animal and charged once more. This time Percy was prepared for the god's surprising speed and was able to parry the sword's slash and return the favour with a stab of his own. The strength of his blow dented Ares's armor and the god stumbled back.

Percy advanced on Ares and slashed at the god's midsection, only to change direction and go for the neck instead. Ares had expected the feint and managed to turn the battle in his favour with a strong blow at Percy's left arm that tore the Titans shoulder from its socket. Percy grunted in pain and charged at Ares.

For a long time the two traded blows, slashing and stabbing, dodging and parrying. Neither seemed to be able to gain the upper hand.

"You can't beat me, Jackson," Ares said as he slammed the flat of his blade against Percy's side and then parried a strong slash away from his shoulder before kicking Percy away. "You can't protect your friends this time. They will all die and your family will as well! It is inevitable!"

"Shut up!" Percy screamed. The ground shook and splintered all around them and storm clouds gathered overhead. Thunder rumbled as lightning flashed across the sky and rain started pouring down. Ares stumbled and Percy was on him in a fraction of a second, Backbiter gone and Riptide flashing in his hand instead.

There was a giant flash of lighting that blinded everyone watching and when their vision returned the scene that greeted them was one to remember.

Ares was standing, leaning on Percy, with a bronze sword sticking out of his body and golden ichor flowing out. Percy pushed the war god back so he fell off the sword with a sickening _slick._ Ares's eyes slowly lost their glow and his body burned up into nothing. As usual the glow of power floated into Percy and he stood just a little bit taller.

The weather cleared and Percy's armor disappeared, leaving the Titan standing in the middle of the cracked street.

"Ah, fuck."

 **A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. It's been a while, I know. Sorry about that.**

 **Have been having difficulties writing these past few months due to my being busy, personal issues, laziness, the works. Don't expect frequent updates, you will be disappointed. However, I will try my hardest to give you guys something. Thank you for understanding.**

' **Till next time,**

 **Manimal**


	16. Consequences

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Sixteen - Consequences**

"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" The city of New Rome shook with the power of Lord Zeus's words. "YOU INSOLENT, FUCKING _DEMIGOD!_ " The god of the sky held his master bolt in one hand and prepared to throw. Percy was on Zeus in no time at all, grabbed the immortal by the shoulders and threw him to the ground.

"There are innocent bystanders here," he told Zeus. "Let's take this elsewhere." In a flash Percy was standing in a desert, not a single soul anywhere near him. Half a second later the king of the gods arrived.

Zeus punched Percy in the face and the Titan was thrown back. He landed on his back and a big cloud of sand poofed up. Percy stood up and raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "I don't want to fight you Zeus," he said.

"You should have thought of that before you killed my son!" Zeus shouted.

"Zeus, come on, he attacked me!"

Zeus released a huge blast of lightning that would have done some serious damage but Percy managed to respond with an immense wave of power that dispersed the lightning.

"Zeus!" Percy tried to talk to the enraged god but found him even more unreceptive to a two way conversation than usual.

"Just answer me this, Perseus. Is Ares going to come back?"

Percy opened his mouth to answer but found that he couldn't form the words necessary. The two men stared into each other's eyes for what seemed to be hours until Percy managed to utter the words that would send Zeus's full fury down on him.

"I don't know."

"There won't be any doubt in my mind about you ever reforming when I'm done with you," Zeus whispered, sounding more intimidating than when he shouted. The master bolt glowed and lightning exploded from it. Percy was ready and stopped time. He ran to Zeus and disarmed him, throwing the master bolt far, far away.

When time resumed the god of the sky looked surprised for a second before his rage returned. He probably could have summoned the bolt back, but like Percy had expected, he was too angry to think clearly.

The god's fists pounded on Percy's body but the Titan grabbed Zeus's arms and headbutted him in the face. Blood exploded from his nose and splattered onto his fancy suit. Zeus snarled and kicked Percy in the stomach, pulling his arms away.

"I knew I should have killed you when you were twelve," Zeus growled. "You and your bitch mother both!"

Percy appeared in front of Zeus and punched him in the face so hard that the god of the sky was thrown back and landed, head first, in the sand. He jumped up, a feral look on his face and sand in his beard.

"You don't know anything, Zeus!" Percy screamed. "You only think about yourself! Just because you were born a god you think you can do anything!"

"I am the KING!"

" _I DON'T CARE!_ " A wave of power exploded from Percy and hit Zeus, causing the king of the gods to be thrown back.

"You were _lucky_! Your father had already eaten five kids and then your mother finally thought that enough was enough. You were the one she saved and you became king. The only thing that you have over your siblings is that you were born _last_. You are the youngest and that's why you're king. You've never done _anything_ special to warrant your kingdom!"

"You pathetic, little-"

"NO! You are pathetic! You decided a long time ago that you could do whatever the fuck you wanted with no consequences to yourself. But there are consequences, Zeus! Almost all of your children and their mothers are despised by your wife, their lives made infinitely harder only because they're a constant reminder of your unfaithfulness. All of the people whose lives you've ruined. They didn't ask for that!"

"You lecture me about taking care of my children when you've just killed one, you disgusting hypocrite!"

"Open your eyes! You're so busy being blinded by your hatred of me and taking your son's death as a personal attack that you don't stop to realize that Ares betrayed Olympus! He betrayed _you_! Why don't you see that?" Percy and Zeus were both panting, glaring at each other with such ferocity that any living thing between them would likely have been incinerated.

"Do not think that this is over, Jackson," Zeus said before he disappeared in a great golden flash.

Percy looked up to the sky and screamed with all his might. All around him the sand exploded upwards in a giant storm. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and the sand settled once more. In a five mile radius the desert was completely flat. The Titan disappeared.

 **X**

"What happened?" Jason asked as Percy arrived back in New Rome.

"Nothing important," Percy said. "Zeus hates me more than he already did but that's fine."

"How is that fine?" Piper asked. "He's the king of the gods."

"I know," Percy said. "I also don't care."

There was a knock on the door and Frank poked his head into the apartment.

"Guys, we've been summoned to Camp Half-Blood," the son of Mars said. "We're supposed to bring a bunch of members of the legion too."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"No idea, but it was Mercury who said it so we should get going. I mean, he is a god." Frank turned around and walked away. Percy followed him.

"Frank," Percy called after his very distant relative.

"Yeah?" Frank turned around. Percy stopped and opened his mouth to speak only to find himself similarly vocally challenged as he'd been with Zeus.

"Uh," Percy started. "So, I, uh…"

"Yeeeeaah?" Frank asked.

"I killed your dad," Percy said. "The Greek version of your dad, anyway."

"Ah," Frank nodded, looking quite uncomfortable. "Yes, I saw that."

"And he's… I don't know if he's coming back."

"What?" Frank asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I have to actually think about making someone fade, I have to want it with every single atom in my body," Percy explained. "But with Ares I didn't even think about it, I just wanted to kill him. But then when he died the power I got from him was more than if I hadn't made him fade, which has made me wonder if maybe I might have forced your dad to fade."

"What?" Frank backed up slowly. There was a look in his eyes that Percy couldn't figure out what was. "You don't know?"

"Look, Frank," Percy sighed. "I know it probably doesn't mean much but I'm sorry. I've been having… issues since I've been back and I-" Percy stopped when Frank held his hand up.

"I never liked my father," Frank said. "A little too violent and brutish for my taste. But he's still my dad. I just… I don't blame you, Percy. I really don't. But I also can't just forget about it. I guess we'll just have to see when you have a definitive answer."

"No, of course," Percy said. "I only wanted you to know the truth. I'm sorry, Frank." Percy nodded to Frank, turned around and walked back into Jason and Piper's apartment. The two of them were ready to go to Camp Half-Blood and stood expectantly, waiting for Percy.

"Okay, we're ready," Jason said.

"Alright, let's go," Percy said and walked out the door. When Piper and Jason didn't follow he poked his head back into the apartment. "You want me to teleport you all across the country, don't you?"

"If you don't mind," Piper said with an innocent smile. Percy shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he muttered. "Come on then."

Jason and Piper looked at each other with triumphant smiles and gave each other a fist bump before walking out of the apartment behind Percy.

Down at the Field of Mars Percy, Jason, Piper, Reyna, Leo, Calypso, Hazel and Frank stood along with a group of other legionnaires. "Okay, just grab a hold of each other's shoulders or hold hands or whatever, just make sure that everyone is in contact, okay? Good, let's go." There was a bright flash of gold and the group disappeared.

The group reappeared on the other side of the country, right next to the tree that used to be Thalia. The legionnaires walked forward but Percy didn't follow. Reyna stopped and turned around.

"Percy, are you coming?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "In a bit." He stood seven more seconds in silence before his shape changed into that of a red fox. He stretched and then bounded past his group down the hill.

"That doesn't even surprise me at this point," Jason stated. The rest of his friends echoed their agreements and then followed Percy into camp.

"Welcome, Romans!" Chiron boomed as the group of legionnaires reached the pavilion where the Greek demigods were waiting. The centaur trotted to the Roman demigods where he shook hands with the leaders of the group "I am truly glad to see you again," he said.

"And we are as well, Chiron," Reyna said politely.

"I wish we could have seen more of each other this past year, but as you've no doubt noticed, the relations between our camps has been something of a mess," Jason said. Chiron smiled sadly.

"Ah, yes," he said. "I do wish my students here had handled the matter of Perseus better." The old centaur seemed almost pained to say the name of his old student.

"No kidding," Leo snorted. He seemed like he was going to say something else but didn't when the fox headbutted his leg. Chiron seemed to notice the animal for the first time.

"Who is this fellow?" he asked, bending down to get a better look at the red fox. The fox stared at the centaur with gold and black eyes and he could've sworn that it winked at him.

"That's… a friend," Piper said. Chiron had opened his mouth to speak, still holding his eye contact with the fox, when a bright golden flash announced the arrival of a god.

"Lord Hermes," Chiron said as he knelt down, the demigods and even Calypso following suit. "It's an honor as always."

"Thank you, Chiron," Hermes said. "Please stand up. I don't need you to bow, that's a thing of the past, I think." Chiron, the campers and the legionnaires all looked shocked. The gods had wanted people to bow to them for millennia, why change now? "Anyway, we've summoned you all here for a game of capture the flag. It's Romans vs Greeks and we'll all be watching."

"Why?" Piper asked. Some people looked scared, like they thought that Hermes would vaporize her for questioning the gods. Hermes shrugged.

"Team building exercise, I guess. I'll admit it's weird to pit you guys against each other to build morale but maybe it'll be cathartic. I hope. Greeks are blue and Romans are red, be ready in an hour." With that Hermes flashed out, leaving the demigods to build their strategy.

"Everyone!" Chiron thundered. "You know the rules. Now get planning." He then trotted back to the Big House. Unnoticed by most, the red fox that had arrived with the Romans ran after the centaur and jumped through an open window to get into the Big House.

Chiron closed the door behind him and walked into the living room only to be startled by a fox standing in the middle of the room, staring at him. The same fox as before, the one that had arrived with the Romans.

"Who are you?" Chiron asked the obviously not ordinary fox. In response the fox rose up on its hind legs and started to change shape. Within three seconds there was a man standing where the fox had been.

"Hi, Chiron," Percy said with a silly grin. "Long time no see." The teacher of heroes almost passed out right then but managed to hold on.

"Percy," he whispered hesitantly, almost reverently. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Chiron. It's me," Percy said as he closed the distance between the two of them and grabbed his old mentor in a hug.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Chiron said. "But here you are. And you've changed so much." Percy smiled, it was time for the story again.

"Indeed I have, old friend. Indeed I have."

 **X**

The Romans' flag stood in the middle of a clearing with only two legionnaires protecting it. They seemed a little bored and were not prepared at all when a fleet-footed son of Hermes broke through the trees and fired two quick, blunt-tipped arrows at them.

The arrows slammed into their helmeted heads and caused them to fall to the ground, dazed. The Greek demigod ran towards the flag and vaulted over the fallen Romans. He landed nimbly on the ground and kept running. He was almost to the flag when he tripped over a root on the forest floor and slammed onto the ground, face first.

Chris Rodriguez groaned. "Ow," he said into the grass. "Hope nobody saw that."

 **X**

A small group of Greeks snuck around a Roman party. They intended to attack the group from behind.

"Okay, you guys ready?" one of the Greeks asked. The others nodded in the affirmative. He counted down from three and then they ran out, brandishing their weapons. Except there was no one there.

"Where did they go?" a son of Apollo asked.

"Wait, why is it so dark outside? We started this around midday, right?"

"And now it's midnight," Will Solace said, looking at his watch. "How have we been here so long?"

 **X**

"So you are a Titan now," Chiron said.

"Yes," Percy said. "When Kronos faded I got powers over time and harvest."

"Ah, yes, harvest. The often forgotten domain of Kronos."

"Yeah, I didn't even know about it until I killed him and I don't get why. It's super cool."

"Perhaps it just pales in comparison to control over time."

"Yeah, I guess."

 **X**

The Romans were close to winning. She could hear them. The Greeks had sent two teams out to get the Romans' flag but neither of them had managed to get it, or even report back. Strange.

Annabeth Chase threw her invisibility cap on and started running.

She broke through the trees and arrived in a clearing. The first thing she noticed was a couple of Romans tying a dazed Chris Rodriguez to a tree. She only gave herself a second to wonder how that had happened before she took off in the direction of the flag.

She sped past the Romans and jumped towards the flag. With agility to rival a master gymnast she grabbed onto the flagpole and spun herself around, landing smoothly on the ground and managing to pull the flag with her as she ran away and towards the borders.

"Hey!" a Roman exclaimed. "Our flag!"

Annabeth ignored him and kept running. She was going to win.

Yes, she was winning. She was winning. She was going to show everyone that she was the same warrior she had always been. She wasn't the sum of her mistakes. The Romans still hated her and the Greeks didn't really like her either but she was going to show them.

She saw the river. Yes, she was winning!

Suddenly a large crack appeared in the ground and her foot slipped in. She slammed down onto the ground in a split, one foot in the crack and the other up on the ground, and her head banged against the grass.

Annabeth was confused and groggy but she was lucid enough to witness Reyna leaping over the river and winning the game.

Annabeth was almost in tears. She didn't win.

 **X**

"And so, we celebrate our champions, the Romans!" Chiron boomed. The two camps were sat in the amphitheatre, chatting amicably amongst themselves. Even more Romans had been brought to Camp Half-Blood and the place was packed. Thus it was no surprise that no one noticed a small group of missing demigods until they announced their arrival quite loudly.

"What happened?!" a son of Apollo shouted over the throng of people who quieted down quickly.

"What do you mean?" someone asked.

"What do I mean?! I mean that we were walking in the forest during the game when suddenly it was dark outside!"

"The game ended hours ago, Will," Chiron stated. "Have you just recently realized this?"

"Chiron, I am telling you it was midday only a few minutes ago! There's something weird going on."

Chiron's expression was inscrutable for a few moments. "Have a seat, boys," he said. "I'll be back in a minute." Then he trottered of towards the Big House.

The centaur had barely entered the house when a voice sounded from inside.

"Okay, yes, I did do that," Percy said from where he sat playing with a flower he'd just formed in his palm. He looked at Chiron with a cheeky grin on his face. "Which one was it?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Chiron asked.

"Which one gave it away? Ah, wait, don't tell me," Percy thought for a split second. "It was the Apollo boys, right? They're back in our time now, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are, Perseus. What else did you do?"

"Don't play the stern teacher, Chiron. Mr Brunner was a century ago. You can't guilt me anymore."

"Perseus," Chiron said. "Was anyone harmed?"

"Not really," Percy said. "A face plant for one and just a little slip and a bruised ego for another." Chiron remained silent for nine seconds.

"You should reveal yourself," he said. Percy cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, I do think that would be for the best. The longer you drag it out, the worse."

"Okay," Percy said as he stood up. "Let's go, old man. Old horse. Old horseman. Let's go."

 **A/N: Hi. Sorry about the amount of time I've taken to write this chapter. Also sorry that I haven't updated my other story in forever. I accidentally ruined my laptop a couple of months ago and writing on a phone is tedious as hell and I hate it. I'll hopefully manage to get myself a new laptop sometime in early 2018. Anyway, here's this thing. Hope you like it.**

' **Till next time,**

 **Manimal**


	17. Chilling in the Clouds

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

 **The Disgraced Hero**

 **Chapter Seventeen - Chilling in the Clouds**

The demigods present in Camp Half-Blood were most sat down and listening to the almost insane ramblings of the small group of Apollo's sons. The Greeks were quiet and listened with rapt attention while the Romans had to give it their all to suppress their laughter.

"I'm telling you, there's something going on!" Will Solace shouted for what felt like the nine thousandth time. "Someone, or some _thing_ , attacked us!"

"It was less of an attack and more like a small bit of fun to be had," a voice said just outside the pavilion. "I mean, it's not like you got hurt or anything. I already did that a while back."

The Greek demigods gasped when a man stepped into the light of the fire. He was tall, muscular and handsome. His raven black hair was shorter than it had ever been while he'd been here but they still saw traces of the messiness that used to be one of his defining traits. His almost inhuman eyes glowed golden in the firelight.

"Percy," Will Solace breathed, all trace of his previously held anger vanished.

"Hi," he said and smiled. The demigods were involuntarily set at ease. That stupid, easy going, fun, adorable grin on his face dragged them all back into a better time. Then the smile slipped off and they could see how different he was.

He had a scar on his jaw that looked to have been a deep wound, and the shadows danced on his face, giving him a slightly sinister visage. As comfortable as they had felt only moments before, they were certainly not feeling the same way now.

"Percy?" a girl called out from the crowd. He turned to look at her. No, not a girl. _The_ girl. Annabeth. He clenched his jaw for a fraction of a second until he regained control and looked away. His gaze swept over the group of demigods as he drew a deep breath.

"As you may all know, there is a war on the horizon," he said, his commanding voice easily heard over the silence. "The Primodials are awakening. Erebus and Aether, Primordials of darkness and light, are gathering forces as they fight their way to consciousness. As soon as they can, they will march against us. All of us. There can be no divide between us. No gods and demigods, no satyrs, centaurs or nymphs. We must all be soldiers."

"No offense or anything, but why are we all supposed to listen to you? Like, do you think the gods would even agree to this?" asked a demigod from the Greek side. He received a number of elbows and fist as a reward for his question from the demigods sitting closest to him. Percy smiled slightly.

"If the gods did not feel that I was needed for this, then they would have let me rot down in Tartarus for another hundred years. But they called me back, and seeing as I have changed quite a bit in the meantime, they would do well to listen to what I have to say," Percy stated. "I will not bend under the Olympian rule any longer. They can go fuck themselves for all I care."

A nervous chatter ran through the ranks of the demigods, no one talked like that about the gods and lived. But nothing happened. No gods arrived to murder him and no lighting appeared to reduce him to ash. There wasn't even a slight rumble in the sky.

"What happened to you, Percy?" Annabeth asked. Percy's fingers twitched, so many thoughts raced through his mind, so many things to do or say. In the end he decided to ignore her.

"I will be staying close by for the foreseeable future to help you all prepare. You must be at your very best to stand a chance." With that he turned around and marched back to the Big House. No one moved for a few moments until a single daughter of Athena raced after him. Percy opened the door and walked inside and only a second later Annabeth stepped inside to find the house empty.

 **X**

"That was great, Perce," Apollo said from where he lounged in his lazy boy as Percy entered the sun god's palace and plopped down in a chair. "Always knew you had a flair for the dramatic."

"I agree, that was very good. Now, a toast," Hermes said and raised his glass. Apollo did the same and Percy let a glass of his own materialize in his hand to go along with it. "To Percy's return!"

"To big boobs!" Apollo exclaimed.

"To being back in a war," Percy said with a mocking voice.

"Why do you always have to bring everything down like that?" Apollo asked. "We're trying to chill and have a drink here?"

"You know, in my life I have been a part of as many big wars as you had in the entire three thousand years before I was born. Then to top that all off I was sent down to hell for about a hundred years, which is five times more than I had lived up here. Then I was pulled up to be a part of yet another war." Percy said, staring into his drink as if he were willing it to explode. But since he could actually do that it was safe to say that's not what he was trying to do.

"Perce," Hermes started.

"Where, in this life, do I get to chill and have a drink?"

"That is so depressing," Hermes said.

"Yeah," Apollo nodded. "Wanna have a few drinks and talk about it?" Percy looked up, into the eyes of his friends and smiled.

"Sure."

 **X**

Percy woke up on a sofa in Apollo's palace. He opened his eyes and looked around. Apollo and Hermes were still sleeping, lying face-down on separate sofas. Percy smiled, it had been good to get some of his troubles off his chest. The two gods had been horrified with Percy's stories but were very supportive and gave good advice.

Percy stood up and stretched. He felt pretty good. Better than he had in a long time. He decided to leave the guys to their sleeping and walked out of the palace. Olympus was as bright and beautiful as always.

A few people took notice of Percy as he walked but most people either didn't notice him or decided it was rude to stare.

What did people do in their off time? Percy wasn't sure anymore. Back when he was just a demigod he'd spent his days in camp, training or having fun. Before that he'd hardly ever had free time as he'd been working when he wasn't in school. So what should he do now?

"Percy!" shouted a voice from behind him. "Oh, Percy! Hey!" Percy turned around to see Aphrodite walking towards him. She had a beaming smile on her face as she waved at him, ignoring the jaw-dropping effect she had on most everyone around her.

"Hi, Aphrodite," Percy said, smiling at the goddess of love and beauty. "What's up?"

"Not much," Aphrodite said when she'd reached Percy's side. "Just saw you from across the road and wanted to check on you."

"Well, I'm pretty good at the moment," Percy said. "I mean, I'm pretty pissed off that we're going to have to fight a war again but otherwise I'm all right." Aphrodite gave Percy a sympathetic smile as they started walking.

"Yeah, I wish that you'd catch a break sometime. It must be rough."

"I guess, but I've just had a century long vacation down south so I've had a while without wars. It's the demigods here that should get some time off, they've only had a couple of years."

"A vacation down south?" Aphrodite asked incredulously. "That's what we're going to call it?" Percy shrugged, smiling.

"It's better than a century of torment down in the pit of eternal damnation, that's for sure."

"I'll give you that one," Aphrodite said. "But don't think that you don't deserve time off."

"I can get however much time off as I want," Percy said. "After all, time is mine for the taking." Aphrodite abruptly stopped and Percy was left looking around, confused, when she wasn't at his side anymore.

"Now there's an idea," Aphrodite muttered.

"What?" Percy asked. Aphrodite looked at him with a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Stop time," she said. Percy hesitated for half a second but then snapped his fingers and everything stopped. Aphrodite looked around, wide-eyed. "Wow…"

"Yeah, I know," Percy said. "Pretty peaceful, isn't it?" She didn't answer him for a while as she kept looking over the city of Olympus.

"It's amazing," she breathed. "To be able to do this, anytime you wanted…"

"Well, not anytime," Percy said as he started walking again. "It's fairly hard to maintain this for a long time. Especially with the immortals. They tend to want to break through the hold."

"How long can you hold this?" Aphrodite asked.

"I don't know, really," Percy said. "I could do it for a short while in Tartarus but up here… I've felt different ever since I came here."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like… I don't know, my powers are pushing me more. Like down in the pit they were more… muted. And now they're breaking loose, trying to get out. And I feel like I'm going to explode sometimes."

"There's never been a mortal that's taken on as powerful a domain as you have. Let alone three of them," Aphrodite said. "And there's never even been a mortal that's turned into a Titan before. It's all new ground. No one can really say what's happening."

"Well, there's one person who could, but he's not all that talkative these days."

"You mean Chaos?"

"Yep. Weird dude. Anyway, he hasn't said anything to me since I came out of the pit so I don't think I should be expecting a visit anytime soon." Percy stopped and moved the arms of two guys so that they were picking each other's noses before starting to walk again.

"What exactly is your relationship with him?" Aphrodite asked.

"Chaos? Well, he stopped me on the way down to the pit and gave me these powers because I would be needed in this war. I guess that's when my eyes turned black. Then he helped me train so I wouldn't die." Aphrodite stopped walking and Percy did too, looking at her curiously.

"Your eyes," she said. "They're different. Very different."

"Yes," Percy said, confused. "I know."

"You could change them," she said. "You know that and I know you do. So why haven't you yet?" Percy was silent for a short while as he stared up into the sky he'd wanted to see for so long.

"They're a big part of who I was before, you know, and I guess… I guess I just don't feel like that guy anymore." Aphrodite stepped closer to Percy and put a hand on his shoulder.

"But you are," she said. "And maybe your eyes could be a big part of starting to feel that way too." Percy stared into her eyes for a long time until he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened them again, leaving Aphrodite to produce a small gasp.

His eyes, previously black and golden, were a vibrant sea green, glowing with the power inside the young Titan. When Aphrodite didn't say anything and just kept staring he stepped back and smiled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck. The sight was so familiar that Aphrodite could almost forget that he'd ever been into Tartarus. She smiled at him, a big, beautiful, genuine smile.

"It looks good," she said. "Gold was never really your color." Percy laughed.

"I guess you should know," he said.

"Yes I should," she agreed.

The two of them walked around the city of Olympus for a short while until Percy was starting to feel the effects of the constant use of his powers. It felt kind of good, to be tired. To spend some of that energy thrumming inside him.

"This has been great, Aphrodite," Percy said. "Thanks for this. I guess I'm on my way to getting back to normal."

"It's no problem, Percy," she said. "I like your company. It's… different from other men. And besides, the day is still just getting started, even after all this time."

"Perks of being the Lord of Time, I guess," Percy said. "I'll see you later, Aphrodite."

"Bye, Percy," Aphrodite waved as she disappeared into the crowds that suddenly started moving once more, just as it had been when Percy stopped time.

Percy disappeared from the city of Olympus and reappeared again just outside of Camp Half-Blood. He walked towards the Big House, intending to find Chiron and Mr D and perhaps talk them into a game of Pinochle when an all too familiar voice shouted his name.

"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Percy, wait up!" Percy did not want to wait up so he walked slightly faster. But Annabeth was as determined as ever and ran in front of him and put her hands out to stop him. They landed on his chest and lingered there approximately four seconds too long.

"Annabeth," Percy stated. "You're still here."

"Yes, I am," she said. "And I owe you an apology. Percy, I'm sorry. I was a fool and an idiot and I don't know the words that describe just how stupid I was. I loved you, I truly did. You were my first love and I will never be able to explain to you or myself or anyone why I did what I did. It was horrible and I'm so _so_ sorry."

"Okay." Percy walked past her, still heading for the Big House. Annabeth ran after him.

"Okay? _Okay?_ Percy I just poured my heart out to you and all you can say is _okay_?"

"Yeah, that about covers it." Annabeth grabbed Percy's shoulder and pulled him to a stop.

"Percy what is wrong with you?"

"So, so much, Annabeth," Percy said. "But none of it is your problem so let it go."

"Not my problem? How is that not my problem?" Percy turned to her and looked right into her eyes, a slightly difficult task since she was a good few inches taller than she was.

"You took my heart and you threw it on the ground and trampled on it. You destroyed me. I've spent the last century in Tartarus trying to think of what I would say to you when I got out but there was always too much to say. So I'll just tell you this: You are nothing to me." Percy spat at Annabeth who looked like she'd just been kicked in the balls which was weird since she didn't even have balls.

"T-the last century?" she managed to croak. "You were only down there for a year." Percy smiled coldly.

"Time moves differently in Tartarus," he said. "A year up here was more than a hundred years where I was."

"Oh, my gods," Annabeth breathed. Percy just turned and walked towards the Big House. This time Annabeth did not follow.

 **A/N: So, I've just gotten a new laptop which is great. Hopefully I'll be able to spit out some updates. More action in the next chapter, I think. Hope you enjoy this.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review. I love it when people do that.**

' **Till next time,**

 **-Manimal**


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